Dangerous Lives
by Hyuga09
Summary: The life of a shinobi is a difficult one, not only for ninja, but ninja who are parents for they live with the constant threat of losing their children every day. This story takes place four years after the epilogues of both stories A Tough Life & Sanctuary and focuses on Naruto and Hinata's children: Minato, Aya, and Kazuki. And Gaara and Nia's daughter Namine. Hope you guys enjoy
1. Prologue and intro characters

Dangerous Lives

Sequel to:

Sanctuary and, A Tough Life.

**Before I begin, let me say this. This story is a joint sequel to my two stories, Sanctuary: A Naruto/Hinata fic, and A Tough life: A Gaara/OC fic (the OC is a pseudo jinchuriki named Nia who focuses mainly on medicines and poisons. She trained under Shizune.) You don't have to read both stories for this one to make sense, just know that both stories happened at the same time, though it wouldn't kill you to read both. **

**There are a few differences though, one is that while Naruto and Hinata fell in love and began dating after the 3 year training gap where the Shippuden arc started, Gaara met Nia during the chunin exams. The second difference is what happens when Gaara is taken by the Akatsuki, not gonna spoil it for those who haven't read both, but the two different stories have different scenarios at that part because at the time I wasn't planning on making a joint sequel, oh well please deal with it.**

**This story's going to be focusing on the second generation, Naruto and Hinata's kids, Minato, Aya, and Kazuki, Kurenai's son Asuma(jr) and Gaara and Nia's daughter Naminé. It is rated M for violence, swearing, sex, and other adult themes, both good and bad. Hope you enjoy my story as much as I enjoyed writing it, with that said, I give you the prologue and the intro to the new characters.**

**O0o0o0o**

"Have you done the research as requested?" The man asked taking the papers from his underling's hands as he walked to the table spreading the papers out and looking over them quickly.

"Sir, the bond between Sunagakure and Konohagakure is still as strong as ever." The underling said quickly in a clear voice.

"No internal strife? No feuds?" The man asked in anger.

"No sir, I and several others have gone under the guise of civilians, there are marriages for both political and nonpolitical reasons between families in Konoha and Suna. The Kazekage's wife is a Konoha native and the former ambassador, they have produced an heir and the Kazekage's sister, also an ambassador has married into the Nara clan."

"Anything else?"

"Yes sir, the leading medic in Konoha hospital, her name I believe to be Haruno Sakura has a strong relationship with the leading medic in Sunagakure, Kitamura Nia, the Kazekage's wife. They together supply vast amounts of medicine and supplies to the mass majority of villages and towns surrounding the two hidden villages."

"Have any actions been taken?"

"Yes, we've infiltrated the Konoha hospital but were caught by the youngest of the Hokage's children."

"I see, the girl correct? So the mission was aborted?"

"Yes sir, the child is only of school age but had several ANBU keeping an eye on her, we could take no action without raising suspicions and compromising the mission."

"And in Suna? What do you know of the Kazekage's heir?"

"Very little sir, though we know the heir to be female in her mid-teens."

"You've been gone for almost six months, how could you have learned so little you damned fool! ?" the man thundered in a murderous rage.

"Forgive me sir, however the Kazekage is very persistent on keeping his child hidden from unknown visitors. For a heartless demon he appears to be quite protective of the girl."

"Of course what monster wouldn't protect its young? And the remaining children of the Hokage and the close family?"

"The youngest male was successfully terminated in the Hyuga house when we first began our mission though we had been intending for the Hokage's child at the time, they believe it to have been a common illness and no investigation has ever been initiated. Of the Hokage's children he has two daughters, and one son, the male being the eldest. Because he married the leader of the Hyuga their children possess the genetic traits, the male and youngest female seem able to access the ability, the middle child has shown to be genetically inadequate for she has passed the awakening age with no sign of the Kekkai Genkai to be seen."

"So we'll target the middle child with the weakest defenses."

"Sir, I'm sure that would not go as planned, her sensei is _the_ Nara Shikamaru, analytical genius, he'd catch on to any plot regarding the girl."

"We need someone undercover, under a disguise, a full time agent if you will. Target the children and break the bonds between the villages. Right now Konoha and Suna are the two strongest powers, and if they can be broken the rest of the ninja world will collapse under the economical strain. We'll take out the main players one by one, and when finally they are weak and defenseless we'll attack head on guaranteeing our takeover of the ninja world."

"And as for the Kages sir?" the man looked up with a slow grin.

"The kages are seen as a pillar of strength, weaken those pillars by destroying their supports, mainly the family. Target and eliminate the family, then destroy the pillar of course.

O0o0o0

Intro to new (and some old) characters!

The life of a shinobi is a difficult one, not only for ninja, but ninja who are parents for they live with the constant threat of losing their children every day. This story takes place four years after the epilogues of both stories and focuses on Naruto and Hinata's children, Minato now 16, Aya now 14 turning 15, and Kazuki now 9 turning 10, and Gaara and Nia's daughter Naminé 15 turning 16, and Kurenai's son Asuma 17.

Minato is sixteen a Chunin and is with his teammates, Kaya Inuzuka and her ninja hound Ume, Toshi Aburame, and sensei Tenten. Minato has yet to tell Naminé, Gaara's daughter, of his crush on her. Despite this, the two are very close friends. He has hair similar to his father's but out of the three children looks most like his mother with his dark blue black hair and lavender Hyuga eyes. He has excelled with his Byakugan, and was the first of his teammates to become a chunin. He still trains with his mother and Neji. It was determined that his elemental chakra is that of water, so adopting his mother's and grandmother's altered stances to the gentle fist allowed him to excel tremendously.

Aya is almost fifteen yet she has been requested to be a new recruit in ANBU. Her hair is blonde like her father's, and often pulled to a low side pony tail. She is the only one of her siblings born without their mother's Kekkai Genkai the famed Byakugan. Her eyes are the color of her mothers, though she lacks the ocular genetic trait her siblings possess. Her team leader is Shikamaru, and team member is Asuma (Jr.). Despite having been part of a legitimate team, Aya views only Shikamaru as her sensei, and Asuma as her teammate. She finally became serious about her training when she became an official genin and uses her intelligence to her advantage after often getting bored in the academy and playing pranks on her peers and siblings. Passing the chunin exams on the first try, Aya continued training with Shikamaru and Asuma wanting more of a challenge, and when the Jonin exams came around she immediately took up the challenge. There her skills were assessed and the Leader of the ANBU recruitment squad Owl offered her a position which she would have readily accepted had it not been for her parents who were not so eager as she, her mother Hinata refusing to allow the blonde to accept the position. Despite her quick advances in position level and intelligence, Aya is still just a young teenager and can sometimes be naive. Aya is one of the few people who have beaten Shikamaru in a game of Shogi.

Kazuki who is nine going on ten is becoming a medical ninja and is Sakura's apprentice even though she's still an academy student, she's due to graduate. She has neither blonde nor blue hair like her parents, instead it is red much like her grandmother Kushina. Kazuki like her brother possesses the Byakugan though her eyes are not lavender but a light blue. She specializes in poisons and antidotes along with many other medical techniques. She is far advanced with her Byakugan training and has been given the title of Hyuga genius for her generation. Kazuki still wants to be the Hokage when she gets older and trains in her free time. Occasionally she studies alongside Naminé, who is all too happy to teach the younger girl something, when the older girl visits Konoha. Although she _is _the youngest, the red head despises being called little or weak. (Because she is the youngest, she will have less of a role in the story due to the inability to be able to go out on the higher ranking missions that the others will be going on. She'll mostly pop up with cute fillers and stuff =) ahem anyways)

Naminé, the daughter of Kazekage Gaara and mother Nia, (My OC a Konoha native well versed in medical practices and poisons) is almost sixteen and acts as the ambassador between Konoha and Suna when her aunt Temari is unable to do so. Much like her father Naminé has wild red hair she often keeps pulled back in a ponytail, and her eyes are brown like her mother's. She is well versed in medicine like her mother Nia, and will often join her mother on trips to Konoha to discuss with Sakura different medical discoveries and plants that have been found in frequent months. She is a close friend of Minato and his siblings, often tutoring Kazuki about various Suna and Konoha medicinal herbs. Because of her blood relations in both villages, Naminé is free to come and go from Konoha as she pleases, her mother being a Konoha citizen from birth. Naminé is very stubborn and strong willed, although she prefers to be passive, she seems to have her father's temper though luckily she has his patience and ability to control sand as well and is not quick to anger. It is said she also has her father's smile, only her close family can prove this as fact.

Asuma (Jr.) is Kurenai Yuhi's and Asuma Sarutobi's son. He is seventeen and is a seasoned ANBU. His resemblance to his father is uncanny, though the only thing missing is the beard much to his dismay. Asuma has inherited his mother's red ringed eyes as well. Before entering ANBU his former sensei was Shikamaru, who taught the boy everything he knew, and his teammate was Aya. Asuma is a genjutsu master like his mother, but has learned to wield his father's chakra blades which were given to him by Shikamaru once he graduated to Chunin. Being taught both of his parent's styles of fighting Asuma is a force to be reckoned with especially when his loved ones are involved. He and Aya are very close friends, as an ANBU he keeps his identity a strict secret and has yet to reveal this information to Aya he wants to keep it this way feeling that she'll get distracted by his safety during difficult missions should she accept the role. As a request from his mother Kurenai Asuma looks out for Aya on missions, and will do so should she chose to become an ANBU as he is in the special tactical and rescue squad, the same squad Owl believes she'd be best suited to. Despite this he would still do so anyways viewing Aya as a very close friend and comrade.

Wolf is a renowned team leader in ANBU, very little is known about him. He is the youngest team leader in years and has taken to his newest recruit with a helping hand. Although he is known for being a strict and disciplined leader, his sector in the special tactical and rescue squad have the least casualties and are usually sent on high ranking rescue missions and investigations. Wolf is known as the best of the best in his class and squadron, a first for a man as young as he is. If Aya were to accept the offer of ANBU, he would be her squad leader.

Hanabi, Amon, and Aiko. Aiko is now four years old and is learning to use her Byakugan. Hanabi personally trains her daughter in the Hyuga style, and has since retired from active ninja duty after the birth of her only child. Amon has registered as a shinobi, and is now a Jonin. The trio visit Anko frequently, Konoha's famed dragon woman was named as Aiko's Godmother. Anko often spoils Aiko, but Hanabi really doesn't mind it. (They'll pop up every now and then.) Amon's Kekkai Genkai is inspired by a mixture of Rogue from X-men and Yori from book 8 in Naruto. (You know that guy who could drain chakra that fought Sasuke in the prelims? Yeah him.) Though Amon can't use other's powers against his enemies like Rogue does, he can kill them by draining them of their life force, something he prefers not to do. Being teamed up with Hanabi when he was younger helped him avoid causing unnecessary deaths. Aiko has inherited both her parents Kekkai Genkais, though she is unable to properly control what she's received from her father. Amon trains her daily to help her take control of her ability.

Tenten is the sensei to the new team 8, the tracking squad with Minato (Hyuga) Uzumaki, Toshi Aburame, Kaya Inuzuka, (Kiba's niece), and Ume the Inuzuka ninja hound. After the original team 8 disbanded, a new tracking unit was developed. Their friendship solid as forged steel, team 8 is able to track and detect enemies and the like, with Minato's Byakugan eyes, Toshi's Kikai beetles, and Kaya and Ume's noses. Tenten, their Jonin sensei is married to Neji Hyuga, they had a son named after Neji's father Hizashi, however the child passed away at the age of four from an unexpected illness that struck Konoha. While Tenten has mourned the passing of her son and is ready to try again to have children Neji is not yet ready to have another child silently fearing that the same thing will happen again.

Nia Sabaku is the wife of the Kazekage, and the mother of Naminé. With wavy auburn brown hair and brown eyes, Nia won Gaara's heart by simply wanting to be his friend when they were younger right before the chunin exams. Nia (who is my O/C in A Tough Life) is well versed in medicine and poisons, she runs the Suna hospital. She was trained by Shizune and had mastered the art of creating complex poisons and antidotes along with basic medical jutsu. She learned to prepare and preserve medical herbs while she lived in Konoha with her Aunt and Uncle who raised her from birth. Nia often frequents Konoha to visit Sakura and her old teammates Ai Aburame and Raizo Hyuga, the clan's only blind member from the cadet branch.(Both also O/C's from A Tough Life) These three make up Hana Inuzuka's first squad of Genin. Nia is a pseudo Jinchuriki who willingly gave up her powers to save the life of someone she cared deeply for. (That's all I'm saying because I don't wanna spoil it for those who haven't read it mwahahaha)

That all being said if you have any questions feel free to PM them to me please, and I hope you enjoy reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. One chapter a week will be posted, laters!


	2. Becoming ANBU, to be or not to be?

Dangerous lives

Chapter 1

Becoming ANBU

To be or not to be…

"I must say, for almost fifteen she's incredibly skilled. It's no surprise with her being not only the daughter of the Hokage but the daughter of the former head of the Hyuga clan as well. I believe that she could be a valuable resource in the rescue squad, what do you think Wolf?" A man with an owl mask said turning to face the ANBU masked ninja standing a few steps away.

"Owl, Aya is very skilled, but don't you think she's a bit young? She's still only fourteen, that's too young, she's still just a kid." Wolf said. From the timber of his voice, one could tell it was a young man.

"Wolf, I didn't ask you if she was old enough, I asked if you believe she could be useful in ANBU with the skills she possesses." Owl couldn't see it, but wolf was scowling under his mask.

"Yes, she does possess great skill, she would be useful. However if you chose to approach her and she accepts, she is to be in _my _squad under _my _order." Hearing this Owl looked over at him.

"You're awfully picky about her Wolf, what's the connection?"

"None. My squad has the least casualties and I'd prefer the daughter of the Hokage not be put under the lead of someone who'll get her slaughtered in less than a week." The young man said waspishly.

"Riiiight. Fine, keep your secrets. If she agrees I'll put her into your squad as you request." With that Owl jumped away towards the center of the arena where the newly announced Jonin were surrounded by their families. Wolf watched as the masked man landed in front of the blonde girl, her father Uzumaki Naruto the Hokage and her mother Uzumaki-Hyuga Hinata, the former Hyuga heiress and clan leader.

After a few moments the girl was jumping excitedly, but her mother placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder protectively and the Hokage crossed his arms and began talking to the Anbu man. Wolf could watch no more, he knew what would happen, he knew the Hokage's family, knew the children, he knew enough about Aya to know what to expect from her. Aya's parents would object, she'd fight it tooth and nail and eventually get her way by claiming that she was following her dream by becoming the best kunoichi she could. He'd seen it happen many times before.

Jumping from the stadium Wolf took off towards his home and entered through the window. Carefully removing his mask he placed it in the box in his desk drawer. Only ANBU could reveal their identities to others, and the point of that was to protect their families. Being in ANBU one gained many, many, enemies. Honestly it was like a game of 'would you rather?' Would you rather your enemies be looking out for the person with the animal mask, never knowing their true identity? Or would you rather your enemies be looking for a person with your specific name, your family name, knowing all about your family and your weaknesses? It really wasn't a tough decision for him to make, his family and friends were his world and he refused to let his carelessness get them hurt.

Wolf never let anyone know who he truly was. When he was working in ANBU, he was Wolf and that was that. Not even his family knew which ANBU he was, not even any of his friends and he planned on keeping it that way.

O0o0o0o0

The moment the black haired teen got home and settled in his room he slumped on his bed and lay there for only a moment when there was a light knocking on his door.

"Yeah?" the door opened revealing his mother, the illustrious Genjutsu mistress of Konoha, Kurenai Yuhi–Sarutobi.

"Home already Asuma?" She asked looking at her son. At seventeen his resemblance to his father was uncanny, the only difference was the facial hair and the eyes. His eyes were his mothers, ringed and blood red, and his facial hair…? Well much to his mother's delight and his dismay he was rather baby faced.

"Yeah Kaa-Chan, I'm home. Detail at the Jonin exams is complete, my shift's over."

"Baby, what's wrong? You seem frustrated about something." How she could do that, he never knew. It seemed that his mother could always sense when something was bothering him no matter how small. Was he that readable, or was it just her motherly instincts?

"Uzumaki Aya just accepted a position as an ANBU." Kurenai's eyes widened in shock, not just at the news but how her son had said it as well. He only called Aya by her name like that when he was angry with her. Kurenai sat on the edge of the bed.

"Hun, you're mad at her for accepting?"

"No, I'm mad because she doesn't understand the hell she's allowing into her life! Ma, she's just a kid, not even fifteen! She's too naïve, she's not ready for this kind of life, most people aren't…it's brutal." Kurenai sighed, she knew how Asuma and Aya were together. When they trained with Shikamaru they were like peas in a pod and were even so before then.

"Well watch out for her then Asuma, that's all you can do."

"I know. I've already asked Owl that if she accepts then she's to be put into the same squad that I'm in…I mean ours has the highest survival rate...apparently the squad leader requested this too." Kurenai nodded proud of her son.

"I'll let you sleep, Dinner will be ready in an hour, want me to wake you up?"

"Nah, if you could leave a plate in the microwave that would be nice though." Asuma said as he pulled off the flexible sheets of armor of his ANBU uniform.

"Ok. Sweet dreams."

"Night Ma." Kurenai closed the door and walked down the hall. Not even she knew which ANBU was her son, but she smiled as she went into her room looking at the photograph of her husband.

"He's so much like you Asuma, you'd be so proud of your son. I know I am."

O0o0o0oo0o

"Mom this will help me reach my dream! I want to be the best Kunoichi I can! Please let me do this!"

"I said 'NO' Aya, ANBU live very dangerous lives and I don't want that for you." Hinata said as she cut the carrots on the cutting board.

"But Auntie Hanabi made it into the ANBU at sixteen! I'm almost fifteen! Come _on_ mom!" Aya whined, happy that her siblings weren't around, they'd never let her live it down it they saw her like this, because now she was just beyond feigning being upset, she truly was and was starting to get frustrated.

"Aya, I'm finished talking about this with you." Hinata said sternly, her intonation clearly stating 'This is the end of this conversation and that's that.' as she turned to dump the carrots into the boiling pot. Aya was having none of it.

"You just don't want me to prove that I can be an amazing kunoichi without your stupid Kekkai Genkai! Why do you hate me? ! You always encourage Minato and Kazuki to become the best they can be, but you never do the same for me!"

Hinata froze at those words, her daughter thought she _hated _her! ? As she whirled around all Hinata saw was dissipating smoke. She felt horrible; she could never hate her daughter! She loved all of her children equally! Often she would encourage Minato because he was so much like her that he would often doubt his abilities, and Kazuki, Kazuki was still just a little girl! All children need praise from their mothers. But Aya, she excelled in everything she did, sometimes Hinata even had to tell her to take a break and to relax and to even slow down…Did she mistake those words of a protective mother as words of a jealous parent who despised her daughter's skill? As much as Hinata wanted to run after her daughter, she knew that what Aya needed now was to calm down. They would talk and make everything right this evening.

O0o0o0o0o

Aya sprinted through the village heading for a familiar small two story house near the edge of the forest. Her vision was blurry and took no notice of the angry tears that streamed down her face. Grabbing a handful of pebbles and climbing the tree next to the house, Aya gently tossed the pebbles at the window, listening as each pebble made a sharp sounding, but soft tick against the glass. Soon enough the window opened and a shirtless young man leaned out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Why're you?...…!" Red eyes met streaming lavender ones. "Aya what's wrong?"

"Can we go for a walk, please?" She asked sniffling a bit.

"Yeah, I'll be right out, gimmie a sec." Asuma grabbed a t-shirt and threw it on, stuck his feet into his shoes and jumped from the window, when he landed, the girl threw herself at him and cried.

"My m-mother hates me!" His eyes went wide with shock.

"Why do you think that? Hinata-sama doesn't hate you she talks about you all the time to my mother!"

"No…no…she hates me…" Asuma sighed resting his hand on the blonde's head.

"Come on, let's go." He said walking down the street as Aya trudged after him rubbing her eyes. "How about we start from the beginning? Congratulations on becoming a Jonin by the way Aya."

"Thanks, but I'm not going to be a Jonin, I'm going to be an ANBU. The recruiting captain and I talked at the Jonin ceremony. I want to be an ANBU, but my mom refuses to let me do it. It's not her decision, it's mine and I want to!" She said looking over at him with puffy eyes. "How'd you get your mom to agree Asuma?"

"It wasn't easy Aya. The ANBU life style isn't easy. We get the toughest most dangerous missions, and of all the ninja classes, ours has the highest mission death ratio. We get the crazy missions where there's usually a 60% chance that the entire squad will not come back, and a 80% chance that we'll lose someone, that's like a 3 in 4 shot. Most of the time there's a casualty for every mission."

"You think I don't know what I'd be getting myself into? Asuma, It's my dream to become an ANBU! I've never wanted to be Hokage that's Kazuki's thing, and the best you can be in the village without being the Hokage is to be a high ranking ANBU! Asuma, I want this! And every time I bring it up with my mom she shoots my dreams down like they're nothing! She only praises Kazuki and Minato! It's obvious that she's angry that I'm becoming such a good ninja without her stupid Byakugan. She just- OW!" Aya held her head where Asuma rapped it with his knuckles.

"You know better than that Aya. You know your mother's not that kind of person! Think about it, Kazuki's a little kid learning something complicated, if you don't encourage her after mistakes and push her to get better then she'll never grow."

"I understand _that_, but Minato's older than me!" Aya said in annoyance wincing as she rubbed her head.

"You think I don't know that? He's older than you, yet he's only just become a Chunin. He's not working to his full potential because he wants his achievements to be earned with his teammates. Your mom encourages him to grow to his fullest, which he's not doing. The only person who doesn't need encouragement is you Aya. You grow and succeed at everything you do, sometimes you just need to chill and stop looking for challenges. Sometimes you just need to settle for a bit, you know? Stop and smell the flowers for once." Aya sighed, Asuma always made good points like this, and he had a way to always make Aya see reason too.

"I'll relax and chill once I'm an ANBU." She said stubbornly kicking a small pebble on the ground.

"You're set and determined aren't you?" he asked, watching as the pebble bounced along the dirt road.

"Yes, I am. I'm not backing down from this. It's something I want." Asuma sighed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Fine, I'll support you on this one, but don't come crying to me when you finally get your ass handed to you." Aya laughed.

"I won't…Asuma?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you know about an ANBU called Wolf?" Asuma stopped for a moment before falling back in sync with Aya's steps.

"He's a total hard ass…but he'll watch out for you. He doesn't talk much though."

"Owl said that he'd end up being my team leader…but if you say that he's an ok guy then I trust you. I think I'm going to go home and talk to my mom again. Dad should be home soon too, so I can talk to them both."

"Good luck." Asuma said as they stopped in front of the gates to the Namikaze house. Aya smiled.

"Thanks Asuma…by the way which ANBU are you?" the blonde asked nonchalantly. She had been trying to get that tidbit of info out of him for years now, ever since she made Chunin actually.

"You know I won't tell. ANBU ninja make enemies Aya. Do yourself a favor, and don't reveal your identity to anyone, not even your family. It's to keep them safe. Promise me you'll do that?" he asked in all seriousness.

"I promise."

"Good…Laters." He said turning to walk down the street.

"Yeah, later.

The two shinobi went their separate ways, Asuma back to his house, and Aya walking up the walk way, she hoped that for once, just once her mother would see her point of view. Honestly, this is what she wanted, Aya wanted nothing more than to become an ANBU, to become someone who could make her mother proud.

**This is the end of chapter one…technically it's the middle of the chapter but I'm sectioning them off to make the evil cliffies and such….not that this one is but still, it'll happen later on though, besides shorter chapters equals more frequent updates. So this'll be a weekly thing and any chapter with a cliff hanger will have 2 chapters posted in a week to make you suffer less ok? I would love to see a review, I WANT to know the thoughts my readers have, do you have questions comments anything? Let me know cuz I don't bite and I'd be more than happy to talk to you about my story or how you viewed it. The first few chapters will appease the Sanctuary fans who've been waiting a half a year just so you all know... Next update will be, Monday 10/08/2012.**


	3. A child's dream VS Parental concern

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 2

A Daughter's Dreams VS. Parental Concern

The Uzumaki family sat around the dinner table listening as the youngest child, Kazuki spoke animatedly about her day with Sakura. Naruto smiled at his daughter as he ate his dinner, he loved listening to his children's days. Hinata walked around the table setting up a place for each member of her family, noting with a twinge of concern that her eldest daughter had yet to return yet. She placed the plate of rolls on the table placing one on her son's plate as she sat down, discretely activating her Byakugan and glancing out the window as she did so. No sign of Aya…

"Then it just came back to life!" the red head squealed happily her light blue eyes shining happily.

"Zuki-Chan, I hate to break it to you but that still doesn't explain how you got your black eye." Minato said looking at the red headed girl who sat across from him. There was a yellowish tinge under her eye where a bruise had once been, and it was obvious it had been healed recently.

"Minato-Nii! The fish came alive! ! !" Kazuki said flailing her arms excitedly, did he not get the point of the story? "ALIVE!"

"It came alive and smacked you in the face didn't it?" Naruto asked dipping his roll onto the stew and taking a bite.

"Yeah…" the girl said looking down in embarrassment.

"It's ok little one, things like that happen. If I recall the same thing happened to Sakura…" Hinata said thinking back. The sound of a door closing disrupted dinner, and moments later, Aya walked past the room, and after washing her hands in the kitchen she sat down at the table with a bowl filled with beef stew.

"Welcome back Aya." Hinata said softly.

"Where ya been kiddo?" Naruto said with a grin watching as his oldest daughter took several quick bites before responding to him.

"I went for a walk with Asuma I wanted to ask him a few things. Otou-san, Okaa-san, I've thought about this for a long time, and whether you agree or not I'm _going_ to follow my dreams. I know you're worried, but don't be. I know exactly what I'm getting myself into, and I know it won't be easy-" Immediately Hinata cut her off which surprised Naruto a great deal, that wasn't like her to do so.

"Aya, we've talked about this…" Hinata said, again with that tone of finality.

"Hinata don't, it's obvious that with our consent or not Aya's determined to do this, and I think we should support her." The blonde said shaking his head, he knew their daughter far too well.

"What? ! Naruto! No!"

"Otou-san…Thank you." Aya said giving her father a small smile.

"Daddy?" Kazuki asked looking at her father.

"What are you guys talking about?" Minato asked looking back and forth between his parents, his mother looked completely outraged. The children were forgotten as Naruto turned towards his angry wife speaking softly.

"Hinata, she has thought about this, that much is obvious and we both know that regardless of what we say she's going to do it, she's hardheaded like that."

"But I said NO! Aya, the answer's always going to be no!" With that Hinata stormed from the dining room leaving the children in shock at her outburst. Before going after his wife, Naruto paused with a sigh.

"Aya, your mom's not angry with you, she's just afraid. She's afraid of what could happen. I'm afraid of what could happen, but I need to let you follow your dreams. She won't like it, but your mother will support you, we all will. Just give her some time." He said before walking from the room after Hinata.

"Why was Okaa-Chan yelling?" Kazuki asked looking towards the doorway where her parents exited.

"Aya, what's going on? What was that about?" Minato said looking at his younger sister curiously.

"Starting Monday, I won't be a Jonin, I'll be starting as a new recruit in ANBU." The blonde said as she continued eating her dinner under the shocked stares from her siblings. Finally having had enough of her elder brother's gaze she looked up from her food. "What is it Minato-nii?"

"You're going to be an ANBU? But I'm just a Chunin! I'm the big brother, I'm the oldest!" He said in shock, he knew his sister was taking the Jonin exams, but never in his wildest dreams did he think she would pass! Let alone be recruited to ANBU.

"Nii-san, you may be the oldest, but if you focused on your skills instead of making sure that your entire group was all on equal levels then you'd be a Jonin by now, maybe an ANBU too. The only person you can blame for still being a Chunin is you. Focus more on yourself instead of everyone else for once." Minato flinched at his younger sister's soft words and glared at her, they were said with no malice but they still hurt.

"There's nothing wrong with supporting your group Aya." He snipped angrily. Kazuki sat silently, her questions long forgotten as she stared at her siblings in shock. They never ever talked to each other like this.

"I never said there was, but it _becomes_ a problem when you're so focused on everyone else that you neglect _yourself _big brother." Aya snapped at his waspish tone glaring back over her plate.

"So what are you trying to say, that I'm a bad influence! ?"

"No, _you_ said that! All I'm saying is that you'd do better to focus on you for a change. This is the kind of world we live in Minato, it's dangerous! Only the best survive and I'm planning on becoming the best I can. You need to start pushing yourself, because eventually you won't be able to keep up. If you can't keep up, then there's no point in stepping up to the plate because you'll just die. If I have to work that much harder to keep you from dying then I will, but don't take it as a free pass to slack off, because I won't always be there to have your back." Minato glared in shock before growling at his sister.

"I was a ninja _before_ you so don't try and tell me about the kind of world we live in because I know-" The blonde stood angrily from the table.

"You know WHAT exactly!? You started training two years earlier big whoop! I've had your back ever since _we_ became Genin together! Remember the Chunin exams Minato!? Who had your back in those exams? Certainly NOT your teammates! I DID! Who fought back to back against rain and grass ninja! ? You and ME! Every battle you fought in those exams, I had your back, not your teammates but ME! Where were they? Kaya was off looking for her dog because the damn thing ran off, and Toshi LOST both of you! The only time I couldn't help you was in your one on one match and you passed that by the skin of your teeth!" Minato flinched at the low blow, now she was insulting his fighting skills?

"Well at least I didn't abandon my teammates!" Ouch, that one hurt. Minato watched as the blonde visibly flinched in shock before giving him a death glare.

"Excuse me! ?" Aya asked in a dangerous voice. Now Minato stood to face his sister.

"You heard me! You focused so much on yourself that you left them behind, you left _me _behind! Just admit it, the second something begins to become a burden to you, you drop it like nothing and leave it behind like it was useless!" Aya glared pointedly at her brother, he'd gone way too far and didn't even know the half of it. She turned shoving herself away from the table and knocking her chair to the ground before storming from the room, only to pause at the threshold of the door. Looking over her shoulder sadly she spoke, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"I had good reasons for leaving my team Minato…but I _never_ left you behind Nii-san, you chose to stay behind. You left me, and I'm tired of waiting for you." With that she walked from the room, and moments later the sound of the front door slamming shut was heard.

Minato stared in shock, what the hell had just happened! ? Where had all that come from? Suddenly Minato remembered that their youngest sister had still been in the room. He looked over to see the little red head crying silently looking from her brother to the doorway from which their sister had just left.

"It's ok Kazuki, come here." The nine year old obliged, walking to her big brother who hugged her as she cried.

"W-why is everyone f-fighting? I don't l-like it w-when you guys f-fight."

"Don't worry, there's gonna be no more fighting, I promise." Just moments after the words came from his mouth Hinata stormed by screaming at Naruto angrily.

"She's my baby, and I'm NOT allowing it! I don't give a damn if you allow it as Hokage!" she snapped rounding on her husband.

"Hinata you have to let her grow! She's not a child anymore, for Kami's sake she's already had to kill! If this is her decision then we should support her, she's already a shinobi!" Naruto said in a steady voice as he tried to reason with his wife, Hinata was having none of it.

"You can support her all by yourself then! I'm her mother and I SAID NO!" Minato felt his sister squeeze him tighter and began trembling as the fighting grew in decibels, finally he had enough.

"Will you guys stop it! ? Look at what's going on and stop fighting!" Silence enveloped the room, and all that was heard was the young girl's crying, which immediately Naruto and Hinata zoned in on.

"Oh my! Kazuki, honey are you alright? I'm so sorry!" Immediately Hinata swept her child into a protective embrace.

"Just stop fighting, please stop fighting, you and Aya are fighting, you and Daddy are fighting, Minato and Aya are fighting…please just stop it." Naruto looked over to his son.

"What happened with you and Aya?"

"Just an argument is all. Aya left, she probably needs to cool off."

"Minato, its late go out and look for your sister, were going to get Kazuki ready for bed, ok?"

"Yeah." The bluenette walked from the room, he knew of four places Aya would go: Kurenai's house, the Hyuga manor, their Aunt Hanabi's apartment and Anko's house. With a sigh he started walking to Kurenai's figuring that the blonde girl would be crying about her troubles to Asuma like she always did. He headed towards the small white house on the other side of the town, passing their aunts house on the way, he figured he'd check there last on his way back. Finally after fifteen minutes he arrived and knocked on the door. Kurenai answered it.

"Hey Minato-kun, what brings you here? If it's to hang out with Asuma it'll have to wait until tomorrow, he's sleeping now…long day you know."

"No, I'm not looking for Asuma today. Has Aya been around? We got into a fight and she ran off like usual."

"Oh, no I haven't seen her today I'm sorry, but I'll keep an eye out for her ok?"

"Yeah, have a good night Kurenai-sensei."

"You too Minato-kun, travel safe."

Turning the boy walked off down the street heading towards the Hyuga manor. He arrived and walked through the entrance heading towards the office of the Hyuga head.

"Come in Minato." Came Neji's voice before the boy could even knock. Pushing aside the paper doors, Minato sat on the seat in front of his uncle waiting silently as the Hyuga head finished up the paper he was working on before looking up to his nephew.

"Uncle, have you seen Aya? We got into a fight and she ran off, Mom and Dad sent me to find her. Has she been here?"

"No, she hasn't. Have you tried Hanabi's?" Neji asked placing the paper he was working on into a pile at the corner of his desk.

"No, I figured I'd check there on the way home." Neji nodded as he continued with his paper work.

"It was nice to see you my nephew, you should come around more often." Neji said as Minato stood.

"As it was to see you Uncle...I'll try…" Minato said bowing as he walked from the room. Walking from the Hyuga manor he sighed. He didn't know what to think of what had happened between him and his sister, they never fought like that and truthfully it disturbed him, especially what was said between them. Usually they got along so well…what he couldn't understand was the business with her team…what reasons did she have to leave her team? Kakashi had always told them that those who abandoned their team mates were lower than garbage…so why did she do it when she believed in Kakashi's words as much as he did? While he was lost in his thoughts, he arrived at his aunt's house. Opening the door he walked right in like he had done all his life. The Hyuga manor and Aunt Hanabi's house were free access places to the Uzumaki/Hyuga children, all they had to do was holler that they were there and enough was said.

"Hey Minato-kun, what brings you here?" Said a voice from behind him Minato turned to see his uncle Amon.

"Have you and Auntie seen Aya lately?"

"I haven't, I just got back from a mission, but she might be here. Hanabi should be putting Aiko to bed by now so I'll go upstairs and check for you." The blonde man said walking by and after kicking off his shoes headed up the stairs, and only moments later both his aunt and uncle returned, Hanabi walking over to give him a hug.

"Sorry Minato, I haven't seen Aya-Chan since early this morning at the ceremony, what did you guys fight about anyways?" Hanabi asked knowing that after fights the blonde would often vanish for hours at a time to compose herself.

"Aya's accepting a position as an ANBU." Hanabi stared in surprise then smiled.

"She's just like her aunt then! Have you checked Anko Sensei's?" Minato shook his head.

"That's the only place I haven't checked yet, I was just going there."

"Well she might be there, I'll go with you. Dinner's in the microwave Babe, I'll be back in a bit ok?" Hanabi said to her husband as she followed her nephew to her sensei's house.

"You two never fight, so what brought this on?"

"She pretty much called me and my teammates useless, and said that I need to get stronger because I'm wasting my time helping my friends. So I called her out for leaving her team…then she got upset and left." Minato said bitterly.

Hanabi sighed.

"Minato-kun, she has a point, at your age both your parents and I had at least tried out for the Jonin exams. You don't focus on teamwork in those exams; it's all about individual skill. I think in her own way Aya's trying to make you realize that there's going to be a day where you fight a very strong enemy by yourself. You need to focus on you sometimes. Neji said that you've only been by to train with him five times this month! You used to be there every other day." Minato simply walked silently. Was it really such a bad thing for him to be helping his teammates? Before he could think about those thoughts Anko's apartment came into view, and on the roof, Aya could be seen looking at the moon sitting next to the famed Dragon woman.

"Looks like we found your sister, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Go on back to my place, and I'll bring you both home, ok?"

"Ok."

"And Minato?" The blue haired boy turned to face his aunt. "Aya had a really good reason to leave her team, just know that much alright?" Nodding Minato turned and walked back to his aunt's house, feeling the eyes of his sister on him. He looked over his shoulder and raised his hand above his hand with a slight wave. Aya returned the gesture, and as he made his way back to his Aunts, the boy smiled. He knew that everything between he and Aya would be alright, it always would.

O0o0o0o0o0o

"So do you want to tell me, what's wrong Aya?" Hanabi asked sitting at the table with a mug of tea. Next to her was Anko, and in front of them both sat Aya who held the mug in her hands, her finger tracing the rim.

"Not really…" Hanabi smirked in understanding.

"Hinata didn't take the news of you joining the ANBU well did she?" Aya looked surprised for a moment before returning her gaze to the teacup and shaking her head.

"No, she didn't. Neither did Minato. We…we always said that we were going to climb the ranks together. We became Genin together we became chunin at different times because he wanted to graduate with his team instead of with me. He forgot our promise then gets mad at me because I took the Jonin exams by myself and passed without him. Now he's pissed because I'm an ANBU! It's not fair! He yelled at me and said that I abandoned him and my old team! You know I had reasons to leave! Even Kakashi-Jii understood, he was the one who told me to leave the group! And Minato has no right yelling at me when he was the one who stayed behind! Is it so wrong of me to want to farther my career? Is it wrong of me to quit waiting for him after I've waited for so long? I've waited at chunin level for 2 years, if he hasn't shown the drive to want to improve then that's not my fault!" Aya said wiping away angry tears.

"No, it isn't your fault, Minato has been slacking off on his training lately, and he rarely visits Neji for training anymore. But enough about that are you excited about being in ANBU?" Hanabi asked with a smile exceptionally proud of her niece's accomplishment.

"I am. By the way, do you know an ANBU by the code name of Wolf?" she asked curiously. Maybe her aunt would know more about the guy then Asuma did…Or not.

"Nope, there was a Wolf in my time during Anbu but he retired before I disbanded. So there's probably a new one. And what about Hinata, how'd she react to the news?" Aya looked up from her cup.

"Mom's not happy she keeps saying that she refuses to let me do it. But I'm not a little kid anymore though! I know she's worried and scared but the least she can do is support me!" The girl said in a huff.

"Don't worry, we support you. Hinata didn't take it well when Hanabi entered ANBU either. Actually if I recall she had some kind of temper tantrum that lasted about a week and a half..." Anko drifted into her thoughts for a moment before returning. "Give her about 2 weeks and she'll stubbornly be fine with it."

"Ok. I hope you guys are right, because I've never seen mom yell that much ever. Even Dad was on my side this time and she flipped on him too."

"Daaaamn…make it three weeks then." Hanabi said sharing a nod with Anko. "Now in all seriousness, I want to talk with you Aya, not in an Aunt to niece way, but in a former ANBU to new recruit way. I want all honesty."

"Okay?"

"What are the dangers that kunoichi face on missions, recite them for me."

"Capture, T&I (torture and interrogation), injury be it accidental, self-inflicted, or harm from the enemy, rape, assassination, illness, starvation and death are the main ones, why?"

"Aside from starvation, and illness, the chance of you running into the aforementioned things or them happening to you will increase tenfold." Aya sent her aunt a look, but Hanabi held her hand up to prevent the blonde from speaking. "And no, I'm not kidding, and I'm not trying to scare you out of becoming an ANBU either. ANBU are the first responders for the most dangerous and deadly missions. You will mostly receive high ranking A missions, and S class missions."

" Don't forget X class missions."

"X class?"

"Secret seduction missions usually reserved only for Jonin and ANBU kunoichi." Anko said simply. "It's mandatory for each Anbu Kunoichi to have at least five X rank missions under their belt. They'll teach you what to do, those are usually assassinations, but with your age I don't think you'll have to worry about that for another year or two."

"Anyways…" Hanabi said once again bringing Aya's attention back to her. "These A and S rank missions are far more dangerous than the usual B and A rank. Anything can and will happen, and I know a lot of people who were not as lucky as me. You will face much more difficult opponents, and people who will have no qualms about torturing you in every single way possible to get information from you. Being an ANBU is more dangerous for a woman than it is for a man, the same goes for being a ninja in general. Have you ever had a boyfriend?"

"Kinda."

"Aya, serious ones, like long term romance."

"No."

"You ever see a dirty movie?" Anko asked making the girl blush scarlet.

"No!"

"You do know what sex is right?" Hanabi asked taking a sip of her tea.

"Of course! I'm almost fifteen!"

"You ever had sex?" Anko was enjoying watching the girl's face change fifteen shades of red.

"NO!"

"I honestly think you should before your ANBU training ends." Hanabi said simply staring at her niece watching as the color drained from her face and returned full force making her beet red, a trait it seemed all of the Uzumaki children had picked up from their mother. She was honestly wondering how the girl hadn't fainted yet.

"W-what? What do you mean I should? Mom said to wait until I'm married or I'm in love." Anko nodded sagely.

"Hinata's right about that, you should only give yourself to someone you love…" The older woman said looking now at Hanabi to finish the lecture she started.

"However, Aya, it's different when you go into ANBU. To be honest I've seen some horrible and unspeakable things happen to some of my female teammates. I honestly think this will be best for you. You've never had sex, and you only have your virginity once then it's lost forever. Would you rather give it to someone willingly knowing that what you're doing is your choice, or would you rather, and Heaven forbid it, that it be taken from you completely against your will because you and your team have fallen into some kind of trap, and that's their way of torturing you because you're a woman?"

"B-but we won't fall for a trap, I won't let us!" Aya said desperation leaking into her voice shaking her head trying to rid herself from these frightening thoughts.

"Things happen, Aya. In ANBU you have to be prepared for anything and everything. Eventually something will happen, it always does. So which would you prefer?" Aya swallowed thickly, she wasn't expecting to have this kind of talk with her aunt and Anko.

"Umm, the first one." She said in a meek voice her face still tinged red.

"Exactly. You don't have to do it right away, but from what I recall Recruits train for 6 months to 8 months before you're sent out on a real mission, that's to get you to adjust to the harsh changes of difficulty. They will train you relentlessly. And of all things to keep in mind, never reveal your ANBU identity to any one, and NEVER remove your mask on a mission. ANBU make enemies, hell there are probably still people looking for the Raven of Konoha five years later. Think about what we've talked about ok? I'm going to bring Minato home. I'll let Hinata know that you're going to spend the night here. I'll see you later Aya." Hanabi said as she stood, placing her cup in the sink.

"Bye Anko sensei."

"Bye Hanabi." With that the brown haired Hyuga left the apartment.

"You tired Aya?" Anko asked yawning as she did so.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go to bed."

"Ok, remember that training starts at 5:00 am tomorrow."

"I know Asuma told me. Good night Anko Sensei."

"Good night Aya."

O0o0o0o0o0

Hinata lay in bed that night thinking about her daughter. She knew that eventually it would come to this, why wouldn't it? After all it was only natural that one of them would want to become an ANBU. She knew it would be Aya, it was always going to be Aya, and that's why it scared her so much. Her oldest daughter was the goofy one of the family she was light hearted, kind and playful. Living that kind of life would change her daughter into everything she wasn't.

Hinata was terrified that something would happen to the golden haired girl. She knew she couldn't protect her from everything, and despite hating the idea, Hinata knew she'd have to give in and let her daughter know that she supported her, and her decisions. As Hinata fell asleep with Naruto's arms wrapped around her, she dreamed of her children, but mostly dreamed of her golden haired daughter who was growing up and getting ready to face the world much too soon for her mother's liking.

**This is the end of chapter 2. Again any questions comments and anything else you want to know I'll tell you, you need only ask. Next chapter will be up soon, like tomorrow. (I've been sick guys, I'm sorry **** )**


	4. Becoming the best of the best

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 3

Becoming the best of the best

Minato was up bright and early as he made his way to Anko's house. The least he could do was make sure his sister knew that he supported her just like their dad said. He smiled as he arrived just in time to see Aya walk from the apartment.

"Nee-Chan." He said softly, but Aya cut him off.

"Nii-san. I'm sorry, I said some things that I shouldn't have, I crossed the line." Aya said softly looking at her brother.

"It's ok Aya, I said things I'm not proud of myself, so I'm sorry too." The blue haired boy said with sincerity in his voice.

"Looks like all is forgiven then Minato-nii; what are you doing up so early?" Aya asked with a smile, her brother was never one to get up at this hour.

"Well, I figured that I'd walk you to the training base…and I wanted to tell you that you were right." He said walking beside the blonde as they made their way to the ANBU training center. Aya looked over at her brother in confusion.

"Eh?"

"You were right about how I was working with my team. You inspired me to work harder. If I work harder then they'll work harder to catch up with me; I'll be a Jonin in no time little Sis!" Minato said with a grin making Aya smile at him.

"I know you will big brother. I have complete faith in you." Finally they arrived to the ANBU training area where a masked man was waiting as a guard. Before Aya went inside, she stopped.

"Minato, what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to go train with Uncle Neji, like I should have been. Bye!" He said as he leapt away. Aya walked up to the man who looked her over.

"Who sent you here little girl?"

"Owl talked with me during the Jonin exams."

"Fine, enter the building, new recruits go down the left corridor for a physical." Nodding Aya walked down the hall, eventually the hall opened into a waiting room with 2 doors, one saying male, the other female, she entered her specified door. Inside a doctor was waiting.

"Hello Uzumaki-san, we've been expecting you. I'm going to give you your physical, at the end you will be instructed to go through one of these doors. Should you pass you will be brought to receive your mask, should you not pass you will be escorted off the premises and your file will be placed in the rejection pile. If you fail, you can never be retested. Is that understood?" Aya nodded.

"Yes, understood."

"Good, now we'll begin." After almost an hour of thorough examination the doctor nodded, yet revealed nothing. Nothing good, nothing bad. "Please go through the right door." She said simply. Again Aya nodded.

Opening the door, she walked down a hall and met another Anbu, this one female.

"Congratulations on passing your physical, I will be bringing you to receive your mask, for even in training and during admissions, no one can know your identity; once a mask has been created for you, you will activate the jutsu that will blend your chakra with the mask. Only you will be able to wear it, and it will adhere only to your face. The process is completely painless, and more than anything it's like activating a magnetism jutsu that works only with your mask and your chakra. Let's go." Aya followed the woman down the dark corridor and finally they reached another dimly lit room.

"Please state your name."

"Aya Uzumaki."

"Yes, we have your chart here, interesting…very interesting." Aya stayed silent, even though she wanted to ask the man what about her file was so interesting. "I can understand completely why Owl chose to recruit you." Aya watched as the man reached down into a drawer and pulled out an oval piece of porcelain holding it out for her.

"Please infuse the mask with your chakra." Aya did as she was told, and watched as it began to glow a soft blue color. Taking back the mask, the man formed several complex seals and the mask slowly changed shape and color. To Aya, the mask was beautiful, and soon enough it stopped morphing and glowing. "Place the mask on your face and manipulate your chakra." Aya did as she was told, and the mask stuck to her face like glue as it slowly adjusted to her facial features.

"You will now be known as Tigress, In ANBU your mask represents the animal your heart most resembles, you are fierce, loyal and protective of family and friends. Your initiation test will begin when you enter the next room. If you do not pass, your mask will be destroyed, and you will not be allowed to return. It that understood?"

"Yes."

"Falcon, bring Tigress to the testing area." Aya walked after Falcon, and finally they stopped in front of a door.

"Good luck."

"Thank you."

O0o0o0o0o0o0o

Minato waited outside on the front steps for his sister to come home, it was already 5:40pm, he never dreamed that ANBU testing would ever take this long. He watched as a familiar figure came up the walk way.

"Have you heard any news on Aya yet Minato?" the black haired boy asked.

"No, she hasn't come home yet. How long does testing usually take Asuma?"

"Depends on what time she got there." He said shrugging as he sat next to the bluenette on the steps.

"About 5:15 in the morning." Minato said.

"Ahh, she'll be back any minute then. There's a good chance she's been accepted if she's been gone this long. Oh, and just so you know Minato, the first three weeks are the worst because the body's still adjusting to the new and crazy routine, so don't be surprised if she falls asleep where she stands." Asuma said seriously as the two began to talk. They were good friends, not as close as Aya and Asuma, but still close. The sun finally vanished from the sky, and in the dusky light a person could be seen walking towards the house.

"Asuma, its Aya!" The boys ran over to the figure holding a slim black box to her chest.

"I passed!" She said happily hugging her brother. Once Minato made to let go, he realized that in the short moments that hug took up, his sister had fallen asleep leaning against him.

"I told you, the first month is brutal." Asuma said with a smirk picking up the sealed box the girl had dropped.

"I wonder who she is…?" Minato said looking at the box, Asuma however held it protectively.

"Don't go snooping Minato, just know that she's going to be in the same squad as me, I'll look after. I promise I will." Minato nodded his thanks, and with Asuma's help they brought the sleeping Aya into the house. Hinata immediately hurried over seeing her daughter asleep in her brother's arms. Picking the girl up, Hinata carried her upstairs and gently placed her into her bed, only to stare in shock at the window. There was a box right in front of it. Hinata used her Byakugan to look inside. There were three ANBU uniforms, two changes of armor and a chakra scroll only her daughter could open. After tucking her daughter in, Hinata sat on the edge of the bed stroking the girl's golden locks.

"I'm so proud of you Aya, I may not say it all the time, but I am. I'm so sorry we've been fighting lately, but if this is your dream I'll support you as best as I can. I love you." Hinata said as she kissed her daughter's forehead and exited the room.

O0o00o0o0o0o0o

"Minato, can I have a word with you? It's regarding a mission you and your team will soon be receiving." Naruto said as he walked past his son's room. Minato followed after his father into the library where Naruto's home desk was, and as he sat down he opened a scroll revealing piles of paperwork he had yet to catch up on.

"Dad?"

"Yes Minato." The blonde said sitting down and grabbing a pen.

"Why don't you just use a Bushin to finish up the paperwork so you have time to just relax?" Naruto sat stock still in shock.

How….how on Kami's green earth had he forgotten about his Bushins! ?

"Minato, have I ever mentioned that you're my favorite son?" The boy simply laughed.

"I'm your _only _son."

"Exactly!" the blonde said with an impish grin. "Anyways, about your mission, you and your team will be escorting the Kazekage and the newest Suna/Konoha ambassador to Konoha from Suna's boarder. Once that is completed, your solo mission begins. You personally will be escorting the ambassador and Kazekage around Konoha." Minato looked at his father curiously.

"Why just me?"

"You were asked for specifically. You will escort the ambassador to the Hokage building where she will be instructed in her duties, and during that time, you will escort Gaara around Konoha." Minato went wide eyed at that.

"Dad, I know you and Gaara-sama are like best friends and all, but he scares the hell out of me."

"He only scares you because you like Naminé-Chan. If you didn't you wouldn't have to fear him. Just relax, Gaara's a great guy. I'm sure if you talked to him about it he'd let you date Naminé."

"DAD! He would kill me in the slowest most painful way possible! Then he'd resuscitate me so he could do it again!" The blue haired teen yelped as Naruto simply shook his head.

"Minato, just talk to him, you'll have to speak to him eventually being his escort and all, and trust me he's not that bad." The bluenette groaned.

"Okay, but if he kills me it's not my fault."

"You'll be fine." Naruto said simply making his son pout.

"Who's the new ambassador?"

"Depending on how the situation goes, it might just be someone you know. There's a new ambassador shift too. They stay two weeks out of the month, and the other two weeks they can either go back home or continue staying.

"So half a month is mandatory, the other half is recreational?"

"Pretty much yeah." Minato nodded. "Now that all has been said, go to bed, it's late and you've got a long day tomorrow. Your team leaves early in the morning." Minato nodded once again and walked from the room watching as his father made several bushins and put them to work on the papers.

**This is the end of chapter 3, the first few chapters were focused on Naruto and Hinata's kids mainly because Sanctuary ended a while ago and I want them to have something to read since they've waited so patiently. However A Tough Life fans, the next chapter should hopefully make you happy! =) **

**Remember I would love to answer any questions you guys have to ask. Feel free to PM me! Next chapter will be up soon**


	5. Meeting the Ambassador

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 4

Meeting the ambassador

"Do you have everything?" Two pairs of brown eyes met, one set shining in excitement and the other in worry.

"Yup!"

"Clothes weapons med kit-

"Yes Mom, I have it all." The younger woman said as she shook her head standing at the gates of the village hidden in the sand.

"Inhaler?" The brunette asked crossing her arms as she looked down at her daughter.

"Mom, I haven't needed that in almost four years now." The red head said as matter-of-factly.

"I'm going to get it, stay." Nia said pinning her daughter with a look making the teenager groan.

"But Ma!"

"Naminé, STAY." Nia said stalking off. Sure her asthma hadn't acted up in years, Nia hoped that it would never act up again but having her inhaler would hurt nothing but the girl's pride. Naminé watched practically pouting as her mother headed back to the Kazekage's mansion.

"Well you're a bit more sour faced than I thought you'd be especially today Naminé." The red head looked up to see a familiar ANBU, one in particular who was her guard both in and out of Suna.

"Jackal, you're coming too? I thought I was getting some freedom on this trip." The red head grumbled halfheartedly.

"Your father's escorting you, you'd call that freedom?"

"One can hope." Naminé said watching as the man jumped down from his perch and landing silently beside her just as once again her mother could be seen approaching in the distance.

"Oh just so you know your dad's running behind so he'll be playing catch up, I'll be escorting you till he gets here." Jackal said quickly.

"Here is your inhaler, just take it for my peace of mind please?" Naminé sighed but grinned.

"All right, I'll take it ok?" she said making a grand gesture of opening her bag to put in the inhaler in it.

"Good, and your father's a bit caught up in the office so he wants you two to go on ahead for the moment and he'll meet up with you by the morning ok?" Nia said looking from her daughter to the ANBU beside her.

"Ok then no problem, it's about time to go though, I love you Mom." The red head said hugging her mother who held her tightly.

"Oh, I love you too baby, be careful please?"

"I will."

"Good. Did you bring your canteens?"

"Yes Mom, four of them."

"Good girl, be safe."

"I will Mom."

"Be careful traveling at night it gets cold out." Nia said just as her daughter made to exit the gates.

"I know Mom." Naminé said her exasperation beginning to grow.

"Did you bring warm night clothes?"

"Yes."

"I'm frustrating you aren't I?"

"Only a little bit Mom."

"Good, it's my job as your mother to be the biggest pain in your butt. Give your grandparents my love and again be careful. I love you and I'll see you soon." Nia said stepping back and smiling at her daughter who looked surprised but grinned.

I love you too Mom and you'll see me before you know it. I'll be waiting for Dad to catch up so tell him that his impatient daughter waiting in the desert does not bode well." Hearing this Nia laughed.

"I'll remind him though I'm sure he already knows. Bye Naminé."

"Bye mom." With those two words the red head and her escort bound off leaving Nia to shake her head, her daughter was off on her first away from home adventure for an extended period of time. Sure it was just in Konoha but still, that was her baby alone in the big scary ninja world. With a shaky sigh she wiped away the tears she had hidden well before heading to the Kazekage's office.

O0o0o0

Gaara didn't even have to look up to register his wife's presence he could tell it was her just by the aura she exuded, it was peaceful calming and uplifting all at the same time. He looked up when he heard her sniffle as she sat down at her desk, the brunette was helping with the excess of paperwork today. Standing from his own desk he walked over and wrapped his arms around the brunette's slim shoulders.

"She'll be fine Nia, Naminé will be out of our sights for all of eight hours until I get there, and even then she'll be in Konoha with her aunt, uncle, and grandparents."

"I know but I'll miss her."

"I know Love, I'll miss her too." Gaara said planting a kiss on the top of her head as Nia nuzzled into his arm.

"Let's get this paperwork done so you can go make sure she gets to Konoha safely. Ok?"

"Sure, let's get to it."

O0o0o0o0

"Has anyone ever told you you're difficult to keep up with?"

"Nope."

"Well then people have lied to you for years because you are."

"Has your exercise been limited to just following me around the village because I think you're getting lazy Jackal."

"Yeah yeah whatever, can we take a break or do you not believe in those you slave driver?" Naminé jerked to a stop sliding in the sand.

"We can take a break here or we can go an extra mile and take a break in the caves where it's shaded and much cooler, either way I'm fine but I choose cool relaxation over searing heat any day. I'm not taking twenty breaks every hour either."

"Jeeze you are a slave driver." The ANBU man mumbled. "Fine to the caves then." Naminé shook her head but headed off in the direction of the rocky desert caves. Once they arrived the man practically collapsed on the cool stone floor.

"Ok, in ten minutes time were on the move again!"

"WHAT!? We just went an extra four miles! How the hell do you have so much energy?"

"It's not energy it's stamina and to thrive in a desert you need more than most people have." Naminé said poking the man with her foot

"You're a freak of nature, sorry to break it to you kid." Jackal said mumbling through his mask as Naminé shook her head.

"Nope, I'm not just well trained is all, I mean I've been taught by my father's family the best of the best in Suna, I've been taught by my dad's sensei and my mom too, that needs a lot of endurance don't you think? You should see my training schedule, compared to that this is a cake walk."

"Can we at least, make it twenty minutes?" hearing this Naminé grinned.

"How about thirty? Then you can properly recover from the heat."

"Good call." The man said laying back down on the ground in utter exhaustion. Thirty minutes seemed to pass in the blink of an eye and soon enough they were on their way once again until finally the sun's bright beams were no longer upon them. Each setting up their own tent for the evening they sat by some smoldering kindling heating the surrounding area which had begun to cool at a quick pace. The heat of the desert was quickly dissipating leaving them in chilled darkness and soon enough Naminé's sleeping bag was calling her. With a yawn she bid jackal good night and made her way into her tent where she quickly changed into warmer clothes and curled up in her sleeping bag where sleep quickly claimed her.

O0o0o0

The tip of the sun slowly rose above the dunes bathing the cool desert with morning light. A small lizard skittered by leaving trails in the sand behind it, and it was being watched by attentive sea green eyes. A soft yawn drew his attention from the desert creature to the tent pitched several feet away, and he watched as sand slowly began to form above the tent into a small round object. Slowly it turned, and when it finally faced him the sand lost its shape and fell to the ground once again. Gaara of the desert, the Kazekage of Suna smiled softly as a girl with extreme bed head exited the tent and plopped down next to him on the ground.

"Good morning Little One."

"Morning Dad. It's about 5:30 right?"

"Yes, we should be heading out soon. We'll arrive in Konoha by this afternoon the latest, and we'll meet with our escorts in a few hours or so at the border." Naminé once again yawned but stood.

"Ok, I'll get ready then. Do we have anything for breakfast? I kinda forgot food."

"I'm aware. I'll pull something out." Naminé smiled as she walked into the tent, already feeling the difference in air temperature from the sun's harsh rays. Brushing out her wavy red hair she pulled it back into a high ponytail before changing from her pajamas. Light baggy dark red capris replaced sweatpants, and a long sleeved black armored mesh undershirt and black tank top replaced her overly large blue night shirt. Her weapons pouch was attached to her left thigh, and tied around her hips was the red sash her mother had given her. Her Suna headband went around her upper right arm, and after packing her bedding, she began to disassemble the tent and packed it tightly before stowing it away.

"I'm ready when you are!" the girl said happily, her pack on her back.

"Breakfast." Gaara said holding out a small bag and a canteen to his daughter. Naminé took the bag opening it then smiled widely.

"Why didn't you tell me you were bringing this yesterday? !" She said pulling out a handful of the dried peppered meat before placing the retied bag into her father's open and waiting hand.

"Because you would have pestered me for it and eaten it all if I had. It would have been empty before you made it to the gates." Gaara said stowing the small bag into his gourd. Naminé didn't deny this because her father was right. Instead she simply nodded with a smile. After she finished eating, and hiding a piece in her pocket to snack on later, the pair took off in a flash towards Konoha.

"Use the sand to propel you forward, you use less energy that way." Gaara instructed watching as his daughter ran beside him, the sand gracefully moving her along.

"I know Oto-san."

"Are you sure you really want to do this?" There it was, finally showing its face and starting to take over; Gaara's extremely overprotective Daddy mode. Naminé could see it happening every time, even if her father couldn't.

"Yes, I'm completely sure, I don't see Koori Baa-Chan, and Kaji Jii-san nearly enough, and I can learn completely about Konoha medicinal techniques in Konoha, especially since Tsunade still works as a medical teacher. Being the Ambassador will be easy, I've already sat in with you during council meetings, and I know what my duties are, have faith in me." She could hear her father sigh.

"I do have faith in you Naminé it's everyone else I don't trust. You're _my_ daughter, and there are people out there who aren't allied with Suna that would hurt you to hurt me. I don't want that to ever happen, I don't want to ever see you hurt."

"Dad, _you_ trained me to use my sand, _mom_ trained me in herbal remedies and poisons, Baki sensei _your_ sensei trained me to fight, Auntie Temtems trained me in coming up with a good strategy, and Uncle Kanky trained me in defense and honing my reflexes too! I've learned from the best in Sunagakure." Naminé said earnestly, Gaara didn't look convinced, and seeing this, the teen sighed.

"Dad please know that I'll be perfectly capable in Konoha for two weeks without you. I'll go straight home after that if you want me to, but it's about time I've started stretching my wings. I can't stay in Suna forever Daddy, and you can't keep me there forever either, I'm sixteen I need to learn, and I need challenges, and I love you and mom until the end of time, but this is something I've got to do on my own. You aren't mad are you?" They ran in silence for a few moments, her question lingering in the air. It seemed forever until Gaara finally answered.

"You're fifteen…and no, I'm not mad at you. But having so little in my life made me very protective of what I've gained…Just know that I support you and your decisions; and if you need me, I'm just a few days away…and if you _really_ need me, I'll be here in moments." He said pointing to the glittering kanji charm tied around her neck. Naminé smiled.

"I know you will. And I turn sixteen at the end of the month, so I kind of already am sixteen years old Dad." Gaara gave his daughter a flat look.

"You're fifteen and that's final."

O0o0o0o0o0o0o

The desert slowly began turning into forest and finally they arrived at the border. Naminé hadn't known how long they had been waiting, but it seemed like forever to her and she was walking around in the clearing, stopping only to lean against a tree for several seconds before walking around once again. Gaara on the other hand was simply meditating, something Naminé, though not for lack of trying, just couldn't get into. Finally she chose to climb the nearest tree to alleviate her boredom. Gaara opened an eye to watch in amusement while smiling slightly. Naminé was so much like her mother it scared him sometimes, all that boundless energy, and her happy go lucky bubbliness was all Nia, if it hadn't been for the red hair his wife could have created their daughter herself.

Naminé grinned victoriously as she pulled herself higher into the tree. She refused to use chakra, it make the task that much more fun. She finally pulled herself onto one of the thicker branches, but her success was short lived, for moments later something large crashed into her, making the girl shriek as she fell out of the tree in a tangled mess with whatever the heck crashed into her. A mixture of her sand and her father's made a slide which she and the figure rolled down, and eventually Naminé was pinned to the ground.

"I am so so-" Before the young male could finish he was snatched up by an irate Gaara.

"What the hell-" Suddenly Gaara recognized the boy and immediately released him, though it seems the bluenette had yet to realize this.

"GAARA-SAMA PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" Naminé's eyes went wide as she let out a startled gasp.

"Dad, that's Minato-kun! I missed you!" Naminé said throwing her arms around her longtime friend, hugging him tightly. When she released him, what she saw could only be described as a blue haired tomato.

"Hey Naminé-Chan!" The red head turned from the bluenette and hugged the brunette who called out to her.

"Kaya-Chan! I haven't seen you in forever! Is that Ume! ? She's HUGE!" Naminé said happily as the black and gray wolf like dog jumped up to lick her as she pranced around her master and the sand mistress.

"Hi Naminé, you're going to be the new ambassador?" The Aburame asked.

"Toshi!" Naminé pulled the insect wielder into a hug as well. "Yup I am! That is of course if everything goes well." Naminé said with a laugh.

"We should be heading to Konoha now before it gets too late, wouldn't you agree Kazekage-sama?" Tenten asked as she leapt down from the tree.

"Yes, we should be moving." Gaara agreed following after Tenten, soon enough the rest followed.

"So Minato-kun, what's new with you?" Naminé asked looking at the blue haired Uzumaki.

"Ah, nothing much really with me, same old same old really; Zuki-Chan's learning medicine, and Aya got promoted to ANBU."

"Wow! Really! ? She's younger than all of us! That girl's got crazy drive. And Kazu-Chan's still learning medicine right? That's so cute! I bet she's really good at it by now huh?" Minato forced down his blush as she smiled at him.

"Yeah, she's pretty good. She's learning on small animals right now, last night she resuscitated a fish I think?"

"Well that's the true pass or fail moment, if you can heal the fish then you're totally ready to become a medic! I've learned all those medical techniques, but I'm focusing in medicine with herbs and stuff like my mom and her family, you know?"

"Yeah, you're really good at making salves." Kaya piped up earning a grin from the red headed teen.

"Thanks!"

Minato couldn't wrap his mind around it here was Naminé, his longtime crush, good friend, and the girl of his dreams talking with him so happily and easily. She was going to be the Ambassador! ? She was going to be living in Konoha every two weeks and even longer if she wanted for the next year? ! How much luckier could he get? However a sneaking voice in his head ruined his happy mood by stating a very obvious fact.

If he didn't date her somebody else certainly would.

The trip from the border flew by quickly, and in no time, they arrived in Konoha. After bringing the Kazekage and Naminé to the Hokage's office, the team disbanded, and Minato stayed behind. His solo mission was to begin…escorting the Kazekage, the extremely protective father of the girl he liked a lot, around Konoha. It began in complete and utter silence until Gaara finally spoke.

"I apologize for my actions earlier this afternoon I thought you were an enemy attacking my daughter."

"It's no problem I'd have to say I'd do the same thing if I were a father. I'm like that with my little sisters too." Gaara nodded feeling the boy's nervous tension lessen. "Is there any particular place you'd like to go Kazekage-sama?" Minato asked as they walked down the road.

"We both know that I'm quite capable of walking through Konoha without an escort Minato-san, I want to talk to you about Naminé."

'OH KAMI HE _KNOWS!' _ the Bluenette thought in a panic trying hard to keep the fear from his face and succeeded.

"What about her Kazekage-sama?" Minato asked with a steady voice.

"Naminé is Nia's and my only child, you know this. I want to make sure she's safe while she's here. Just keep an eye out for her." The red head said with a stern glance.

"I will of course. She's one of my best friends." Gaara nodded.

"You're just like your father when you talk like that. Be a good man like he is Minato. When Naminé's finished speaking with your father could you bring her to her grandparents for me? I'm going to see Temari." With that Gaara vanished in a swirl of sand just as he was known for. Minato sighed in relief as he walked back to the Hokage tower he thought that their 'talk' would have been much different. Minato sat in the lobby and waited for the redhead to come out of the Hokage's chambers.

O0o0o0o0o0o

"Okay Naminé-Chan, you know what this job entails so you're all set." Naruto said with a smile standing from his desk. Naminé understood when she was being dismissed and bowed to the Hokage.

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Naruto nodded and walked to the door opening it for the teen taking notice of his son who immediately stood.

"Minato, you're to escort Suna's new ambassador to her housing, afterwards you're free unless your team is given a mission." The blonde said as Minato nodded watching as Naminé walked past him with a grin. Turning he followed the red head from the room.

"So how's it feel to be the new ambassador Lady Ambassador?" the bluenette asked with a grin making Naminé shake her head.

"You're such a goof Minato, I'm still the same me no job title on earth could change that." The red head said rolling her eyes as they headed to her grandparent's house. "So where'd my dad go?" Naminé asked catching the bluenette off guard with the sudden question.

"He went to your aunt's house." Naminé nodded, her father and Aunt had been fighting lately, hopefully this was a sign that things were looking up, especially since her dad was caving and heading to her aunts…or maybe her aunt caved and sent him a letter? Naminé didn't know, they had such an odd relationship one minute they were fighting the next they were fine and a moment later they wanted to kill each other, and it was usually because of her Uncle Shiky…

"Hey, I have an idea how about after we go to my grandparents' house we can train by the river? I do need more experience in different terrain, plus my water walking's a bit sketchy." The red head said with a laugh.

"Sure, no problem." Minato said with a grin as the red head led the way, though he really was wondering if Gaara was at his sister's house…the bluenette swore he could feel someone watching them.

**This is the end of the chapter, pm me any questions comments concerns random thoughts, I'd love to hear them and I really do want to know what you think of my story. Next chapter will be up soon!**


	6. Never underestimate me!

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 5

Never Underestimate Me

Good job today Kazuki-Chan! You're progressing very well! At this rate you'll be training with Tsunade in the advance class in no time." Sakura said petting the girl on the head. The pair was circulating the veterinary hospital with Kazuki fixing simple breaks all morning. The young girl smiled as they walked from the building.

"Thank you Sakura-sensei! I've been working as hard as I can."

"I know you have! Your parents should be very proud of you." The bubble gum haired healer said with a smile. "We're done for the day, you should head on home unless you've got something else to do because my shift at the hospital starts soon." Kazuki made a disappointed face.

"Aww, can't I come too?"

"Not at this time Kazu-chan. Tsunade is the one who brings people into the hospital, she'll let you know when you're ready." The redheaded girl sighed.

"Okay. I guess I can go train with Uncle Neji and Mom, I haven't done that today. I'll see you later Sakura-Sensei!" The young girl said running down the street.

"Bye Kazuki-Chan!" Sakura said waving.

O0o0o0o00o0o

"Let's go again, Byakugan!"

"Byakugan!" The sounds of flesh hitting against flesh was heard as blows were struck and parried by the two combatants. Kazuki and Neji's blows collided sending each other backwards. Once again Kazuki charged her uncle trading blows with him, and finally locked his arm up with hers. Neji was not expecting this, and almost got struck by his niece's blow.

"Rotation!" The girl went flying back and twisted in the air to land unsteadily on her feet panting in exhaustion, still in her stance. Neji righted himself.

"Very impressive, let's take a break yes? We've been at it for hours now."

"Okay Uncle Neji. Can we have some tea?"

"Sure, how about some lunch too?"

"Yes please!" The pair went to the dining area where lunch was already laid out.

"So tell me, how are Mom and Dad doing? I heard about Aya becoming an ANBU." Neji asked.

"Mom and Dad and Aya fought about it a lot about it. I don't like it when they fight. But Momma seems happier lately though…She and Aya were talking the other day and Mom said that she only wants us to be safe and that she was scared for her." Neji nodded, the same happened with Hanabi. They only needed some time to accept it. It looked like it would have been the same situation with Aya. This time however, Hinata seemed to be managing it better.

"Hey, it's almost 2:00, shouldn't you be in school Kazuki?" Blue Hyuga eyes met white ones.

"It was test day and I finished early, that's why I was with Sakura-sensei before coming here." The red head said smiling at her uncle.

"I see. Well Kazuki I must get to the office so I'm going to have to leave you ok?" The older Hyuga said standing.

"Ok, thank you for lunch Uncle Neji, I'll go home and train some more with Mom!"

"Very well young one, just don't overdo it, you don't want to end up in the hospital with chakra depletion again do you?"

"I won't! Bye!" With that Kazuki stood, bowed to her uncle and left the Hyuga compound. She skipped down the street smiling as she stopped to smell some flowers in front of the Yamanaka flower shop and to wave to the shop owners, Kazuki continued on her way down the street.

"Hey." Kazuki paused as she walked past the alley.

"Hello?" she asked stepping into the littered corridor.

"Hey, you're a ninja right?" The nine year old turned at the sound of the voice.

"Um, I'm training to become one."

"You're training with the pink haired medic right? Can you heal things?" asked the voice from the shadows.

"Yes, why?" Kazuki asked wearily.

"Because my little brother's puppy got hurt and I'm looking for somebody to fix it up. Will you come and help me?" Now Kazuki took a step back.

"You should bring it to the vet because I don't trust you, I'm leav- Hey! Let me go! OW!" In a flash the girl's wrists were encased in the man's single large hand.

"You are the youngest child of the Hokage. You'll be the perfect bargaining chip to get our demands met little girl, so don't do anything stupid." Her eyes widened in shock then narrowed angrily.

"I might be little but I'm not helpless, this is your last chance to let me go." The man simply laughed.

"You're giving me warnings? You're just an academy student, I'm a chunin! Hahah-OW! No biting you brat!"

"Rotation!" The man slammed into the wall and immediately the red head ran over and began striking chakra points leaving her attacker paralyzed. "Never underestimate me! I'm the daughter of the sixth Hokage, and the granddaughter of the fourth Hokage! Remember my name, its Kazuki Hina Hyuga Uzumaki Namikaze and I'm going to be the seventh Hokage someday and I'm getting my Daddy!" Kazuki ran from the alley looking for any familiar face and smiled widely when she recognized the man walking down the street, it was her Godfather. Hurrying over she grabbed his sash.

"Uncle Gaara!" Kazuki was the only one able to get away with calling the Kazekage this, and it was only because she and Naminé called each other sister because of their red hair...That and he was a member of Kazuki's red heads are awesome club…he got to eat the chocolate chip cookies she made, who could say no to that?

"Hey Kazu- Kazuki what's wrong?" he asked seeing the girl's frantic face.

"There's a man in the alley over there and he tried to take me away! He said he's a chunin!" Kazuki said as she led the Kazekage over to the paralyzed man. "Can we bring him to Daddy?"

"Yes. Let's go." He said as the girl's hand grabbed his and as he wrapped the would-be kidnapper in sand and carried it behind him.

"Hey Uncle Gaara, If you're here then is Naminé-Nee here too?" the nine year old asked smiling up at the red headed Kage.

"Yes, she's going to become the new Suna/ Konoha ambassador." Kazuki jumped up and down as they walked, still holding on to the Kazekage's hand.

"Yay! I get to see Nee-Chan!" she said happily. In no time they arrived at the Hokage building.

"Daddy's not gonna be mad at me right?" she asked looking up at her 'Uncle'.

"No, Naruto won't be mad at you, he'll be mad at him." Kazuki looked relieved as they climbed up the stairs.

"You promise?" Gaara nodded. "Oh good! I don't like it when Daddy's upset with me; it always makes me feel bad because he looks so sad. But I'm happy he won't be disappointed with me." Gaara knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Gaara opened the door. "Yo, Gaara! What's up!?"

"Daddy!" the girl said happily releasing Gaara's hand as she ran over to her father and jumped on him.

"Kazuki, what are you doing here?"

"Daddy that man tried to take me away but I beat him up!" Kazuki said pointing to the sand wrapped man who was now beginning to struggle in his bonds, Kazuki took notice of this. "I told you I'd tell my Daddy!" she said sticking her tongue out at the bound man as Naruto looked at her in shock.

"WHAT?! Are you ok? Did he hurt you!? What happened?"

"I'm fine. My arm hurts though Daddy." She said pointing to her left arm with the torn sleeve.

"Let me see." Naruto knelt down and gently lifted her sleeve revealing a sliced and slightly bloodied arm. His eyes flashed crimson as he glared over at the man. Hefting him up by his shirt, Gaara's sand falling away as he did so.

"You pulled a blade on MY DAUGHTER?!" Naruto only punched him once, but the single blow knocked the man unconscious.

"Kazuki, tell me what happened please." Naruto listened cleaning and wrapping her arm as his daughter told of her entire day, starting off with school, and ending when she arrived at the Hokage tower after she had found Gaara.

"Now he'll learn never to underestimate me or call me little!" She said balling up her small fists in frustration. At this Naruto laughed, she really was so much like him when she got angry like that.

"Good job protecting yourself Kazuki, you made me very proud!" Kazuki smiled happily blushing at the praise. "Oh, and Gaara, are you and Naminé coming over for dinner?"

"Not tonight Naruto, were going to eat at the in-law's house, they've been writing for us to bring by Naminé for weeks now."

"Ok, I'll see you later then, I've gotta bring this little fighter home, Hinata's gonna flip when she hears this. Kazuki **do not** tell your mother, I'll tell her first, ok?"

"Ok Daddy, are you going to stay home after dinner tonight?"

"Yeah, I will. I'll see you tomorrow Gaara." The red head nodded.

"Good evening." He said vanishing in a swirl of sand.

"Let's go!" Naruto said lifting his youngest into his back as he waltzed from his office, stopping in front of the secretary.

"Can you send an ANBU to my office and have them bring that unconscious guy to the T&I department? Oh and make sure Ibiki's there as well."

"Sure thing Hokage-sama!" With that done Naruto and Kazuki headed towards home.

O0o0o0o0o0o

"Everybody line up!" The recruits followed immediately and the group went silent, several people panting heavily from the rough training they had just finished, and they all watched as their training leader Heron walked down the line looking to each of the fifteen individual recruit before finally stopping at Tigress. Aya's breath caught when Heron paused in front of her.

"You show the most promise of the new recruits so far, Tigress you've been chosen to go on an ANBU class D rank mission with your team leader. Wolf is waiting for you outside, go meet him immediately."

"Yes Heron." The young ANBU leapt off to meet her team leader outside of the ANBU training headquarters as Heron continued her lecture.

"Your training will involve small village missions like this-

O0o0o0

Aya arrived inside the central hall and waiting near the door was a male with a black, gray and blue wolf's mask who was leaning against the wall. The moment she entered, the blonde could feel his intense stare on her, it was no wonder he was given a predator mask.

"Let's go." Aya simply nodded following as Wolf took off. "Many times during your career in ANBU you will be sent on missions with no knowledge of what to expect. It is ANBU that scope out more difficult missions to give average ninja a fighting chance. When we arrive at the Hokage tower we'll learn our mission." In a flash the pair arrived in front of the secretary.

"Hello ANBU-sans. You are to bring the man in the Hokage's office to the T&I department. Be cautious, he is of Chunin level and was caught by the Kazekage after he tried abducting the Hokage's youngest daughter." Aya's eyes went wide with shock and fear, what had happened to her little sister? She couldn't help the small gasp that came from her upon hearing the news.

"I know! It's frightening that such a sweet innocent little girl was targeted, but we needn't worry. She incapacitated the man all by herself, we should expect nothing less than that from our future Hokage-Chan don't you think?" The two ANBU nodded and entered the Hokage's office, immediately Aya went over and kicked the man that lay on the ground and in an instant she was grabbed and yanked towards Wolf who glared at her through his mask. Feeling the glare Aya looked to the floor in embarrassment, her breath caught in her throat, she was in trouble and she knew it.

"Tigress, you can't let your emotions take over. I already know who you are, and even if I didn't I would have known you hold a strong connection to the family of the Hokage. Do not let others know by giving away information with your actions. Control yourself, we have to take the prisoner to the T&I department, let's finish this, you still need much more training in self-control, you're far too impulsive." Wolf said roughly making Aya wince in embarrassment behind her mask. As they exited the building, the man bound and between them Aya spoke to her team leader.

"It's tough to contain your emotions when you know the people who are the victims…Wouldn't you agree?" Wolf only nodded.

"When we drop him off, you are free to go home and see your sister." His rough voice said softly.

"Thank you." The drop off was quick and simple, and after bowing to her team leader and being properly dismissed, Aya hurried back to her home to check on her little sister. Carefully stowing her mask away once she was out of the view of prying eyes, Aya ran into her house not even bothering to close the door behind her as she entered. Finally she found her little sister and pulled her into a hug.

"Kazuki are you alright! ? What happened?" Aya asked checking her little sister all over but still not releasing her.

"Nee-Chan….can't breathe!" Aya loosened her hold on her sister.

"Are you ok? I heard about what happened earlier." Kazuki smiled.

"I'm fine Nee-Chan, that guy's not though. Dad had to run back to the office to grab something real quick and the secretary told him that one of the ANBU hit him too, she said it was either the one with the wolf or the tiger mask. It's nice to know that they care though." Aya blinked in shock before nodding.

"Yeah, we do care. I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Ok, mom ordered out for dinner tonight, it's Korean Barbecue! Yum!" Aya hurried up the stairs, completely aware how reckless she'd been on her most recent and easiest mission.

"Self-control…" 'I'll become better, I'll become the best ANBU ever.' She was already at the end of the third month of her training and was slowly but surely adjusting to the crazy routines. ANBU had to be prepared for everything so they were training for everything…everything but what her aunt suggested she do.

**Ahhh the plot thickens….kinda… this is the end of chapter 5. Ask away with questions let me know your thoughts, speak your mind dear readers and tell me what you think.**

**Next chapter will be up soon!**

**Ps sorry for the late update, hurricane Sandy stole my power! gotta love living on the east coast! ^_^**


	7. A request made and a secret revealed

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 6

A request made, and a secret revealed

They were just entering their fourth month of ANBU training, and when Aya went home something unexpected happened, balloons and confetti rained down from the door way making the girl jump in shock. She had been working so hard that she had completely forgotten her birthday. She was ushered farther into the house by her mother and father, there she ate, opened presents and celebrated her fifteenth birthday with her friends and family. As she walked around the house, Aya spotted Asuma who was pouring himself a drink.

"Hey, do you think we can talk for a minute?" she asked glancing around for anyone who might over hear them. "Alone?"

"Sure Aya, what's up?" he asked following the blonde as she led him upstairs and into her room closing the door behind them.

"Well, you know that Aunt Hanabi was in ANBU right?"

"Yeah, you've told me this before why?" he asked leaning against the wall as Aya sat on the edge of her bed.

"Well, she gave me some advice, and told me that I should do something before my first real mission because ANBU missions are much more dangerous than normal missions, especially for kunoichi."

"Ok…What did she tell you to do?" At these words Aya turned pink with embarrassment looking away from him for the first time.

"Umm, about that…" now she was fidgeting with her fingers, a habit she picked up from her mother and only gave into when she was beyond nervous.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"Auntie said that…because I haven't…I-I've never…"Her face was now scarlet as she mumbled the rest of the sentence leaving Asuma very confused.

"Aya?" She took a deep breath before starting over.

"Ok…you know that I've never had a real serious boyfriend."

"Yeah, and?"

"And I…I've never done…_it _before." Now Asuma turned pink and looked away from her.

"Umm, yeah obviously; where are you going with this?" he asked running his hand through his messy hair.

"If I go on a dangerous mission…and should I ever get captured…I don't want that to be my first time…if someone ever decides to do something like that to me." She said now staring at the ground instead of the boy before her.

"Aya, what exactly are you asking me?" Asuma asked slightly nervous now. 'She can't be doing what I think she's doing.'

"I wanted to know…I was wondering if you'd…be…my first." Aya now closely resembled a tomato as her cheeks beamed. Her eyes never left the ground. Asuma choked on his drink and was now coughing violently making the blonde look up.

"W-what? ! Why would you-…? Why ask me?" He asked in shocked disbelief.

"Why? Because I trust you completely that's why. I trust you with my life, and I figured of all people I could ask to do this for me…it should be somebody I trust. You don't have to, I'm just asking, I-"

"Who else would you ask to do this? Not Norio right?" Asuma's question took Aya completely off guard.

"UGH! Gods no! Never! Not after what he did hell no! Why would you think I'd ever ask him? ! I didn't ask anyone else...I couldn't. You…you were the first person I thought of...Well, actually you were the only person I thought of who I'd be comfortable with." The blonde said shyly. Asuma nodded.

"Ok, I'm not saying yes…but…I'll think about it." He said quietly not looking at Aya.

"Ok. I'm sorry if I freaked you out asking that question, but you really were the only person I thought of." Again Asuma nodded.

"Let's get back to the party."

"Yeah." Just as Asuma reached for the door, it swung open revealing the Hokage.

"What's going on in here?" Naruto asked raising an eyebrow.

'Over 30 successful ANBU missions and tonight I die by the hands of the Hokage, Kami help me now, just let it be quick.' Asuma thought, however he was quickly saved by Aya.

"I just wanted to ask Asuma about one of his most recent missions. I wanted to know what I should be looking out for, ya know?" Aya said the blush on her face still visible though it had faded some.

"Right…both of you get downstairs _now_ before I 1000 years of death you both." He said flatly. Immediately the two teens hurried past the Hokage, Naruto grabbed his daughter gently holding her back.

"Aya-

"Dad, we were _just_ talking, honest."

"Fine, I believe you. Go have fun, ok?"

"Ok, thanks for the party Dad." Aya said hurrying down the stairs after giving him a hug. Naruto sighed as his daughter hurried down the stairs, it seemed as if Aya had aged a million years in the last few months, and even more so in the last hour or so. He didn't like his children growing up.

O0o0o0o0o0

Asuma avoided Aya for the rest of the party, not only because it was a bit awkward, but because Naruto was watching him like a hawk, and ANBU or not that frightened him a great deal knowing that he was being eye hunted by the Hokage. Eventually he chose to leave early walking with his sensei Shikamaru.

"What's up?" The shadow wielder asked taking a drag on his cigarette after they had walked in silence for a bit. "I always know when something's bugging you so spill before it becomes too troublesome for me to even care." The words sounded blunt and rude in the Jonin's bored voice, but Asuma knew that they were anything but as he began talking.

"Well…it's kind of awkward and weird, and to be honest sensei, I'm really confused on what to do." Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow and glanced at the boy next to him.

"I'm listening."

"A comrade of mine asked if we could sleep together. She said that missions were dangerous for kunoichi and wanted to be with someone she trusted first in case something bad ever happened to her."

"It's not all that weird actually it's quite a common occurrence for that to happen. My old teammate Ino asked me to do the same thing, but I was in a relationship with Temari at the time so I didn't. So she asked our other teammate Choji. There's no real name for it, a few people have called it a virginity ritual. What's got you confused?" Shikamaru asked blowing a perfect smoke ring as they walked.

"Well…what should I do? She said that she thought of me first and that she trusts me, but I don't want to outright just say yes because I don't want her to think that I think of her as a free pass for sex, she means more to me than that."

"I see. Why don't you do what Choji did? Take her out on a date. If you slowly build up to it instead of just out right doing it, it will make things easier when the time comes to finally do it, it's kind of like building up momentum, you understand?" Asuma nodded.

"Yeah, but what do I do? I know the mechanics of it, but is there anything…specific I should do?" Shikamaru smirked at the boy.

"You're getting all worked up like it's your first time or something…" The shadow ninja was greeted with nothing but silence. "Wait a minute? That'll be your first time?" he asked turning to face the black haired teen.

"Yeah." Asuma said in embarrassment.

"What happened with that Amiko girl? You guys were crazy for each other."

"She was too clingy, I honestly think all she wanted was sex, but I'm not that kind of guy who'll jump right in the sack, you know? Like Norio Inuzuka! He's anything but a man of principles! He's slept with more women than I can count...Bastard." the teen growled as Shikamaru nodded, Kiba's son really was not known for any good principles, troublesome boy.

"Right, so about your ex, isn't that a teenage boy's dream girl? One who always wants a good roll in the hay? Or have times changed since I was younger?"

"She called me by a different name…it was kind of a mood killer… Asuma said in annoyance pushing the thoughts of the brown haired girl from his head as Shikamaru nodded. "Besides I want it to actually mean something."

"I'll bet it was, and that's a good way to think…now back to the subject at hand. Like I said, take her out on a date, and not just a movie or something like that, make it a nice one, make it memorable. Fancy dinner, walk along the lake, flowers, candles, all that romantic crap. If you need help ask Choji he's good with those things."

"Ok."

"So you're actually considering it?"

"Yeah, Norio was her old teammate, and I sure as hell won't let that sleazebag touch her. It'll be a freekin' war if he finds about this, then he'll be all over her like a damn dog in heat."

"Isn't he already? And I figured it was Aya, you've been avoiding her like the plague since you two returned to the party." Shikamaru said, making the black haired teen blink over at him in shock. All Shikamaru knew was that the Inuzuka was always asking Aya out and she rejected him every time, it only continued to increase with time. The only teammate Asuma really cared for enough to consider going through with the offer was Aya…hell the only teammate he really had _was_ Aya. It wasn't hard for the genius to put two and two together, especially with the way Naruto had been staring the teen down earlier with promises of pain and death.

"He'd get worse." Asuma said flatly with an annoyed scowl. He'd already had to put the kid in his place with what he'd done to Aya, and naturally he pummeled the dog boy into the ground not caring that he was a chunin and the brat was just a genin. Of course in all fairness he had just recently passed the Chunin exams, so it was still kind of a fair fight…maybe…

"You really seem to hate that boy." Shikamaru said taking another drag on his cigarette.

"I have a good reason."

"Care to tell?"

"It's a long story." Asuma said wanting to avoid it.

"It's a long walk." Shikamaru said countering him.

"You really want to know?" Shikamaru gave him a look that plainly said 'I'm listening aren't I?' With a sigh Asuma began his story.

"It happened before she left her team, she graduated and had been with them for almost a year…"

_~~~~Flashback~~~~_

"_Asuma! Asuma guess what?" Aya asked running over to the twelve year old chunin. Asuma looked over at the newly turned eleven year-old._

"_What?"_

"_We're going on a mission to snow country! We're just delivering a scroll but I've never been there before. I'm so excited!" she beamed happily, lavender eyes sparkling in excitement, her travel pack on her back. Asuma noticed this._

"_So you're on your way now?"_

"_Yep!" she said nodding her head eagerly._

"_Then shouldn't you be heading out?"_

"_We are, we should be leaving about now but I wanted to tell you before I left! Can we go to your sensei's house so I can tell you guys about my mission when I get back?" Aya asked eagerly._

"_Sure, but you should hurry, you're going to be late!"_

"_Ok! Bye Asuma!" The boy couldn't help but grin._

"_Oh hey Aya!"_

"_Yeah?" She paused turning to face him._

"_You're still coming to my birthday party next week right?"_

"_Yup!"_

"_Cool, see you around. Bye Aya, be careful." Asuma said with a wave. The girl followed him around like a puppy and he took it upon himself to keep an eye out for her when he could. Asuma headed to the gate to watch them leave and recognized her two teammates, one was his younger cousin Hiruzen, his cousin Konohamaru's son who's named after Asuma's grandfather, the boy's great grandfather the third Hokage, and the other was a boy in the graduating year same as his cousin, Norio Inuzuka. It seemed Aya was the youngest in the group. They made their way out of the village without a fuss, and after watching them leave Asuma made his way to his sensei's house for training._

_O0o0o0_

"_Sensei how do we know we've made it to snow country?" Aya asked as the group continued their journey. The man simply grinned._

"_Well Aya-Chan, the temperature gets quite a bit colder and sometimes it'll snow, even in July."_

"_Really? !" the blonde asked in awe._

"_Yep really." The group continued on without incident until the sun began to set, and then they set up their tent._

"_You three have packed your insulated sleeping bags right?" The Jonin asked._

"_Yup."_

"_I did sensei!"_

"_Me too."_

"_Good job all of you. After dinner get to bed, I'll take first watch, next will be Hiruzen, after that will be Aya, then Norio. Understood?"_

"_Yes sensei." They chorused. Aya made her way to the tent and fell asleep, waking only when Hiruzen tapped her shoulder. _

"_It's time for your watch Aya." The blonde yawned as she bundled up and walked from the tent and sat by the fire wrapped in her blanket. The several hours she was on watch were uneventful and a half hour before she was due to swap out Aya jumped to see Norio already nearing her._

"_You have a half hour left to sleep you know." She said as he walked over and sat down next to her on the log._

"_I know, but I woke up early so I thought I'd join you until it was my turn."_

"_Oh, ok." They sat in silence for a bit until once again the older boy broke it._

"_I'm cold."_

"_You should have gone back to bed then, you'd be warm." Aya said not to be mean but just stating it as fact._

"_Can I have some of your blanket?" Aya was all for sharing but the thought of being cold because he didn't want to go back to sleep annoyed her a bit._

"_Fine, here." She said offering him the end as he wrapped that bit around his shoulders as their legs touched._

"_It's kind of uncomfortable to sit like this. Can I put my arm across your shoulders?"_

"_Ok…?" he wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulders and pulled her closer._

"_You're warm."_

"_It's because I had my blanket, I'm colder now because you won't go get yours." She said shivering a bit from the cold._

"_There's lots of things people can do to stay warm when it's cold out." He said his arm dropping from her shoulders to her waist making Aya uncomfortable, especially when he began rubbing his hand up and down her waist._

"_W-what are you doing?" she asked quietly a bit nervous._

"_I'm trying to make you warm."_

"_Stop it. I don't like it."_

"_Fine." He said removing his arm from her waist and placing his hand on his leg. Aya relaxed but minutes later his hand ended up on her leg and slowly worked its way up her thigh making its way farther up her leg and making the girl beyond uncomfortable. She stood immediately and began walking away but didn't make it too far as the boy snatched her by her pant loops making her fall back across his lap. Aya gave him a glare._

"_You're not done yet, you have fifteen minutes left of watch, what would sensei say if I told him you abandoned your post?"_

"_But I didn't!"_

"_He won't know that, now who would he believe? Me or you? Hmm? I'm two years older than you and have that much more experience, he'd believe me." Aya pushed herself off the boy's lap or tried to as once again he began rubbing up her leg._

"_I said stop it!" Using his weight to his advantage the boy pushed the small blonde to the ground, his hands going across her chest down her sides touching her butt going down the outsides of her legs and going back up her legs and along her thighs, she screamed as loud as she could._

"_SENSEI! ! !" The effect was instantaneous and sounds could be heard inside the tent. As their teacher rushed out Norio released the girl who scrambled away from him crying._

"_What happened?"_

"_I came out to swap out for watch and she mistook me for an enemy and attacked me, so I pinned her to the ground."_

"_That's not what happened! You kept touching me! And I t-told you to stop!" she cried holding onto her sensei and hiding behind him._

"_Is this true Norio?"_

"_I did a quick pat down to make sure that there was nothing more she could attack me with, especially since she slashed my arm with a kunai." He said showing a bleeding slice on his arm that wasn't there moments ago. "I kept telling her who I was but she didn't listen so I was forced to pin her, it's standard procedure, am I wrong?"_

"_No Norio, you aren't but-_

"_But that's not true! That's not what happened sensei! I didn't even have my kunai!" Aya said pleadingly._

"_Aya, you just need some sleep, I probably shouldn't have put you so late in the watch." He said rubbing his head. "Norio, you continue watch. Aya, go to bed and rest up, we're going to be moving all day tomorrow." Aya was nervous as she entered the tent and with a last look behind her she just wanted to cry, because Norio had a look on his face that plainly said 'What did I tell you?'. Immediately she hurried through the flap._

"_Sensei?"_

"_Yes Aya?" he sounded annoyed now._

"_When will we get to the land of snow?" She heard her sensei sigh._

"_If we leave early enough we'll arrive tomorrow night. If not we'll get there the next morning."_

"_So we won't be home until the end of the week?"_

"_Not until Friday or Saturday no." Hearing this she held her pillow tightly and tried not to cry. The next night he tried the same thing, and the morning after they arrived in snow country. Their sensei rented hotel rooms and Aya stayed in hers and locked the door sleeping the whole day, that night she continued to sleep soundly until she heard her door knob jiggling. Softly she climbed from the bed not making a sound and opened the window wide pushing the curtains out before crawling under the bed. It was a very snug fit, and she watched nervously as the door opened. The person stopped when a blast of cold air entered the room. She heard a muttered curse as the person walked out of the room once again closing the door behind them. She didn't dare leave from under her bed. _

_They stayed at the hotel for two nights and on the first night Aya sent out a messenger bird for Asuma, just like she always would. Aya didn't know how to tell him what was going on without sounding childish so she didn't. Again that night she left the window open and slept under the bed contemplating to herself that if maybe she slept under her sleeping bag on the way home if he wouldn't be able to find her…she woke again to her door lock being picked open. _

_The next night she had first watch sensei had second, Hiruzen had third and Norio had last, she couldn't fall asleep while he was in the tent so she stayed awake, especially during sensei's watch, Hiruzen slept like a rock and would most likely sleep through an earthquake, there was no way she was falling asleep without sensei in the tent. They once again packed up, and made their way back home, Aya ran practically leading the group and setting the pace, she didn't want to be out another night with him and there was no way in hell she ever would. _

_Unfortunately for her Sensei decided to set up camp for the night after Hiruzen tripped and twisted his ankle. Aya tried convincing him that if they went the rest of the ten miles they could bring him to lady Tsunade, he decided that Hiruzen needed rest, he'd take first and second watch, Aya would take third, and Norio would take fourth. Aya wanted to cry, because that meant only three hours of sleep for her._

_She lay silently awake listening to the familiar sounds of the forest for hours until it was finally her turn to switch out. Being out of the tent she felt relieved, she meditated for her time on watch only to jump in fear when someone sat down next to her, she had a good twenty minutes left before swap out, looking next to her she was surprised to see Hiruzen, and immediately she sighed in relief._

"_You scared me."_

"_Sorry, didn't mean to. I got a letter from Asuma while we were in the snow village, he said to look after you, and I thought I should let you know that I think my cousin likes you."_

"_O-oh, well Asuma is one of my best friends and he always helps me with my training too." Aya said with a blush._

"_Yeah he's a wicked cool guy I wish I could be like him."_

"_Me too, he's not afraid of anything."_

"_You don't seem to be afraid, you've been doing night watches all these times and you seemed fine to me."_

"_No, I'm scared of things…" 'Of certain people…'_

"_Everyone is…well I actually came out to use the bathroom, so I'm gonna go and then get back to bed, alright?"_

"_Ok, night."_

"_Night." He said limping away._

_The time had passed quickly while they were talking and soon enough it was time to swap out, just as Norio exited the tent Aya hurried past him to enter it only to be hooked around the waist by his arm as he pulled her close and held her much too tightly against him._

"_We only have tonight until our next overnight mission, I think we should make it memorable don't you?" he whispered making the girl tense up immediately, the way he had said that scared her more than anything he'd already done. Just as his fingers touched the bare skin on the inside of her shirt, rustling bushes caught the boy's attention and he released Aya who pushed him away and scrambled into the tent in tears. Hiruzen entered minutes later._

'_Thank you. You don't even know it but you saved me…I don't know what you saved me from, but you saved me…' she thought with streaming eyes._

_The next morning arrived and after packing up camp they made their way back to Konoha in an hour and a half or so, and as they entered the gate their sensei stood before them._

"_Good job guys, I'll bring Hiruzen here to the hospital and deliver the mission statement. Go home and get some rest, we won't have a mission for another week or so. You're all dismissed." That said their sensei and Hiruzen made their way to the hospital. Norio walked by her slapping her butt and giving it a squeeze as he winked and ran by making his way home. Aya ran towards Shikamaru's house in tears. Around this time Asuma would be finishing up his training. Just as she arrived Asuma was leaving and she immediately bound over to him and cried holding on to his shirt as he held her tightly._

"_Aya what's wrong! ?" She told him what had been happening during the night watches and what had happened the very first night and how he lied about it, and how he'd break into her hotel room when everyone was sleeping and how scared she was last night and how if it hadn't been for Hiruzen she didn't know what would have happened to her, and how just minutes ago he felt her up again. After that Asuma brought her home and told her he'd handle it. A few hours later he found the Inuzuka boy at Ichirakus snatched him from his seat dragged him into the nearest alley and beat him to a bloody pulp. _

_Afterwards he found Kakashi and asked his opinion on what to do telling him Aya's story but not naming her specifically. Even the legendary Copy-cat ninja said that it would be best for the girl to separate from the group, especially since the sensei never did an investigation into the girl's claims to see if she were telling the truth. _

"_But Kakashi-Sensei, we were always told that abandoning your comrades is something you never do though." Asuma said quietly. _

"_Sure abandoning one's comrades is never something you should do, but being in such danger constantly from one's own team member is a completely different story." Kakashi said simply. "Bring her by later and we'll remove her from her team." The only problem was that in his retirement it was Kakashi's job to manage the team list in Konoha, so eventually he'd find out just who the girl was. The next day Asuma brought Aya to Kakashi and after she begged him to stay quiet about it to her parents he finally relented and wrote on the paper that the age gap was too vast and that Aya needed to train with genin her own age or a Chunin tutor. Asuma ended up being that tutor._

_~~~~End flashback~~~~_

"And that's how Aya ended up training with us, and that's why I absolutely detest Norio Inuzuka." Asuma spat with an irritated glare. Shikamaru was stunned, and Asuma could tell for his cigarette had fallen from his lips and was beginning to burn a hole in his vest.

"Are you kidding me? !" he asked finally realizing he was starting to catch fire as he patted the singed hole on his vest to put it out.

"Not at all, that's why I kept her close when we were younger. There was no chance in hell I was ever going to let that happen to her again."

"That's ridiculous! She never reported it?"

"Aya just turned eleven, she thought she'd end up getting in trouble, and after she told her sensei about it and he did nothing she probably thought no one would believe her."

"That's still ludicrous!"

"I know, don't let her know that you know sensei, she's still terrified that Kakashi will tell Hinata-sama and Naruto-sama. The only one she told other than me was her Aunt Hanabi, and she made her promise not to tell either." Shikamaru nodded looking grim as he sighed.

"I won't say anything. I've got some news that might interest you though."

"Yeah?"

"You're going to have either a God brother or a God sister."

"Temari's pregnant?" Asuma grinned at the shadow ninja who merely smirked back. "Congrats, I hope she doesn't have a mood swing and kill you, pregnant women are scary when they're mad, and Temari's always mad."

"Nah, she's got a soft side."

"Yeah under the fangs and venom…"

"She's scary yeah, but I love her." The pair continued to walk on in silence as they both thought to themselves. Asuma was always very protective of Aya, he didn't know why but it was something that just came as naturally as breathing. He waved bye to his sensei as he walked up and opened the door as his thoughts drifted back to Aya's request…Could he really do this? The onyx haired teen shook his head as he changed into pajamas, he'd sleep on it and think over everything before making his decision. However before his head even hit the pillow he already knew his answer. He'd do it for her because she asked, just like he always did and would when she needed him.

**The plot definitely thickened with a little bit of the past and some story time with Asuma. Let me know your thoughts, questions comments, pm me, drop a review. I honestly don't mind either way…**

**Next chapter will be up soon**


	8. Ties that bind forever intertwine

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 7

Ties that bind forever intertwine

(Chapter contains lemons)

The five remaining months of ANBU training flew by faster than Asuma had hoped they would, and soon enough the ANBU recruits were in their last week of training. Once they were released for the day, Asuma found Aya and caught up to her.

"I've thought about it a lot…and I'll do it Aya." She looked genuinely surprised and nodded all the same knowing exactly what he was talking about, honestly she'd thought he'd forgotten about her request, she hadn't asked anyone else…she couldn't while she trusted her friends and cared for them dearly, none made her feel the way Asuma did.

"Ok…when should we…?" Asuma could feel his cheeks burning as she asked the question.

"My mother was sent on a mission, she won't be back until Monday so, maybe this weekend? Before you finish training?" he suggested.

"We have Saturday off, I'll come over then." The blonde said shyly with a red face as she hurried off. Asuma nodded as he walked home not entirely sure if he could do this. It was Friday, and in an attempt to distract his mind he decided to clean his room, 1 because it was a mess, and 2 because he was going to have a girl alone in his room, and 3 because it killed time that would be used with him obsessing on what to do.

'Make it like a date huh? I can do that….I hope…'

O0o0o0o0o0

"What should I do! ? It's gonna be really weird." Aya asked sitting at the table her knees pulled up on the chair and her face buried in her arms which were wrapped around her legs with her Aunt and Anko.

"It's best of you trust the person you chose, and have you been taking the birth control pills?" Hanabi said.

"Yes, same time every day, and I do trust him…I'd trust him with my life." Aya said looking up, her face quite pink.

"Good."

"Well the first time hurts for a lot of girls, so the best thing you can do is just relax." Anko said softly.

"Touching and kissing is completely natural. Men want to be touched just like women do." Hanabi said reaching for her cup of tea on the table.

"Some people like biting, it gets them all hot and bothered." Anko said with a devious smirk.

"Everything's easier if you're both aroused, just as he has to take care of your needs, you have to do so for him as well. You have to remember that it's not all about you, but neither is it about him, it's about the both of you coming together to make each other feel good. That being said foreplay is important."

"Some people like it from behind on their hands and knees getting down and dirty."

"There are lots of different positions that can make it more comfortable for you though there really is no one specific way to have sex."

"You can totally dominate him with blind folds, whips, and candlewax." At this Hanabi simply stared at her sensei, and Aya who had been turning pinker and pinker was now almost purple.

"Umm sensei isn't that a bit much? I think we can discuss fetishes at a later date don't you think?"

"Oh, yeah hehehe, kinda got a bit carried away there." The famed dragon woman said with a grin.

"A bit? Aya looks ready to faint dead away!" The loud thud drew the two women's attention to the collapsed girl who'd fallen from her chair to the floor.

"Oops…" Anko said with a smirk rubbing her hear ruefully while Hanabi sighed giving her mentor a look as she lifted her niece from the ground and placed her on the couch. She sat down back at the table and kept on drinking her tea.

"She'll join us again when she wakes up…blindfolds, whips, and candle wax? Sensei you're _bad_!" She said laughing.

O0o0o0o0o0

Saturday finally came rolling around, and Aya sat in her room as she looked at several outfits nervously. She had found a note taped to her window earlier in the morning saying 'Get dressed nice, were going out at 3. Meet at the usual spot.' Needless to say she was now obsessing with what to wear. Finally she settled on a blue and white wrap around dress, and white sandals. The only thing Aya was ever this girly about was her hair, so the fact that she was going as far as to paint her toenails meant something. Her blond locks were in their usual style of a side pony with her bangs framing her face. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. She thought she looked nice for once in comparison to what she'd usually wear. Grabbing her purse Aya walked from the house, it was 2:30, and the last thing she wanted was to be late.

O0o0o0o0o0

Asuma sat on the rail of the bridge overlooking the river that went through Konoha. He'd been waiting for no longer than a few minutes when a familiar blonde walked up. The young man stared in complete shock, Aya looked beautiful. Then he smiled as she spoke first.

"Hey."

"Hi…You look great." The girl blushed.

"Thanks…so umm…where do we…?" Asuma hopped down from the railing.

"Don't worry about that for now, that's later. I thought we could hang out." Aya's relief was obvious as her nerves slipped away and she smiled.

"Ok, are we just gonna run around or-?"

"Nope, I've got stuff planned, let's go!" he said walking towards the center of the village Asuma wanted this to be one of the best days ever for Aya. Their steps fell in sync, and eventually they made their way to the movie theater, after buying 2 tickets to the 'scariest movie ever made' a pack of candies, 2 sodas, and a large tub of popcorn, the pair made their way to the seats all the way in the back.

"So, we're going to see a scary movie? Asuma, we've lived some stuff scarier than this."

"I never came here intending to watch the movie Aya, besides, I've seen this before it totally sucked." He said chomping on a handful of popcorn.

"If we're not here to watch the movie then, what are we doing here?" Asuma gave the girl a sly grin before making several signs, in moments where Asuma stood was a creepy looking alien-like monster figure.

"This." He said gesturing to himself. "Is what the horror monster looks like, and for some strange reason lots of civilians are really creeped out by this movie. I think we should give them a reason to be scared." Aya smiled a devilish grin before transforming into the same monster Asuma had illusioned himself to be.

"Like this?"

"Perfect."

"When do we do this?" Aya asked watching as Asuma reverted back to his original shape, and following suit.

"Thirty seconds after my watch beeps, we can watch the movie until then."

The movie it's self was horrible, and with Aya's trained eye she caught every flaw that could be seen, zippers, pull lines, hidden wires. Her candy was long gone, and her soda was watered down from the melted ice. She sighed as she took another handful of popcorn to munch on listening as several people shouted out in fear or surprise. Finally she heard the beeping of the watch and after sharing a glance with the black haired boy next to her, and taking a quick sip of her drink, she once again formed into the creature that had been stalking the actors on screen and crept down towards her 'victims'. She could see Asuma getting into position and with a quick wave they both jumped into the crowd of people and were rewarded with ear piercing shrieks and humorous calamity. Suddenly an usher came hurrying towards the two teens, and Aya didn't notice until Asuma grabbed her by the wrist and sprinted from the theater, both of them laughing as they ran through Konoha.

"We haven't done stuff like that since before I became a genin!" Aya said trying to catch her breath still giggling as she followed Asuma elsewhere. That was how they spent their day, doing silly and fun things, and finally watching the sunset on top of the Hokage monument.

"Come on, let's go get some dinner, ok?" Again Aya followed, but was surprised when they passed the cheaper food places like Ichirakus and the Korean Barbecue, instead Asuma walked into a restaurant owned by the Akamichi family, a place that was notoriously difficult to get into. The maître d looked down at the two teens.

"Can I help you _children?"_ Asuma's eye twitched in annoyance. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a note and handed it to the man, who upon reading it completely changed his attitude towards them.

"Ah! My sincerest apologies! Let me bring you to your table!" Aya raised a brow at the man's 180 mood change. She was curious about the note, but was unable to read it because he had stashed it into his breast pocket of his suit as he ushered them to their seats.

Aya's seat was held out for her by her date, and soon after Asuma seated himself. Aya looked through the menu and stared in shock.

"Asuma, this place is crazy expensive, we can't afford this." She hissed quietly. There was no way she was going to be washing dishes to pay off this meal, and daughter of the Hokage or not, she would not ask her parents for money.

"Don't worry about it. I've got everything handled." He said with his easy grin. Aya sighed and scanned the menu looking for the cheapest thing on the menu. "Don't you even dare get the chicken because it's cheap, get something you'll like."

"But-

"Aya I've _got _this." He said opening his menu and paling at the prices. It was only at this moment was he ever so thankful for his sensei's friend Choji, who had given him a note to give to the maître d and free passes to eat at the restaurant. Aya was right, this place was crazy expensive, and he was so tempted to get the chicken to keep the price down but even that was expensive.

Once the waiter arrived, Aya ordered the beef, and Asuma, the pasta primavera. Their meals were thoroughly delicious and they enjoyed them immensely. After leaving a generous tip and the meal passes signed by the current leader of the Akamichi, and after wandering around one of the many lakes in Konoha, the pair finally made their way back to Asuma's house. Aya looked around the empty house, her heart racing with nerves and quickly excused herself into the bathroom.

'I CAN'T DO THIS! I can't do this…but I have to.' Aya took slow deep breaths as she looked at her reflection in shock. Did she really look that scared? After washing her face with cool water, and being happy that she hadn't put on makeup, Aya sat on the closed toiled seat as she cleared her mind of all her nervous thoughts, little did she know that Asuma was in his room doing the same exact thing as he sat on the edge of his bed.

'Holy freekin HELL! ! I can't do this! She's my friend, friends don't do this, what if I hurt her! ?' His thoughts were running rampant, and as he took calming breaths, he couldn't help but think of the advice given to him at his sensei's house, but not by Shikamaru, but by his wife, the wind mistress of Sunagakure, now Nara Temari. Normally the wind mistress would strike complete fear into the young man's heart with her snappish replies and sarcasm, but as he talked to her and his sensei, she was answering with completely honest, and very helpful advice and comments.

*****Flashback*****

"_How the hell am I supposed to know __**that **__Asuma! ?"_

"_Well who the hell else do I ask! ? I don't know any girls like that and I'm __**not**__ asking my mother. Besides you're supposed to be a genius remember?" The black haired teen said pointedly._

"_What's going on?" The two males were interrupted as a blonde woman sat down at the table, her hair, which was usually in its four pigtails, was loose and hung around her neck. Asuma had been treading around Temari much more carefully lately after learning that she was pregnant. If he thought she was wildly crazy with mood swings before, they paled in comparison to what she was like now._

_Shikamaru smiled as he gazed at his wife, whose hand rested on her swollen stomach. She was almost five months along now._

"_Asuma here wants to know a woman's perspective on sex for the first time, and I've got things to go do. Think you can handle this? If not I can always ask Ino." Sharp green eyes met black ones in a glare._

"_Ok, you can handle this one then." He said simply holding his hands up in pacification as he took a few steps back. Asuma wanted nothing more than to turn tail and run, Temari was scary under normal circumstances, her being five months pregnant and moody made her even scarier if that was at all possible._

"_What do you want to know?" She said sweetly with a smile throwing him completely off guard._

"_Umm, everything I guess…?" he said scratching the back of his head in pure embarrassment as his face tinged red._

"_Well, let's start with emotions first. When it's a girl's first time, she's usually nervous. Women can be very self-conscious, let her know that you think she's beautiful in every way, no matter if she's heavy, skinny, flat-chested, well-endowed, curvy, or flat as a board. If you've made it this far with the girl she trusts you a lot, let her know that you care, and be gentle. Show her that her trust was well placed for her to choose you of all people to be with. _

"_No matter how much you want to just dive in, ALWAYS be gentle with a girl when it's her first time because the first time hurts, how much it hurts would honestly depend on the girl's hymen, that's the proper term for the "cherry" that gets popped." The blonde said air quoting. "Like women are different so is the hymen, some are thin, some thick, you can imagine that the thinner it is the less it hurts, the thicker the more so. However how little it hurts doesn't matter, pain is pain and everyone tolerates it differently, that and sex is about making each other feel good so I'll repeat it again, be gentle. _

"_Go at her pace, and most of all both of you need to relax. It's easy to get started, just start kissing and do what your body tells you to do. Touch is important too, and for the love of all that is holy there MUST be cuddling when you guys finish! If you just leave her laying there after you two screwed around she'll just feel used and confused about how you feel about her. That one I know from experience!" Temari said loudly glaring angrily at the wall leading to the Nara clan head's office._

"_Temari I fell asleep just let it go already." Shikamaru's voice said from the other room. Temari's head snapped in the direction of the door way radiating death and immediately she stood heading into the other room and grabbing her fan in the process. Asuma paled as he felt the strong gusts of wind and heard the distinct sound of shattering glass. After a few minutes of silence Temari walked back in all smiles once again sitting down across from him._

"_Now where was I?" she asked softly her index finger tapping her chin several times. Asuma was actually afraid to respond. "Oh yes I remember now! Well to continue on there are the rules you have to comprehend and follow, like listening to your partner and fulfilling not only your sexual desires and needs but theirs as well. Let's start with the basic sexual positions: first missionary position, the most common position for first timers…" _

****End flashback****

A gentle knocking on his door roused Asuma from his memories, moments later the door opened. Aya stood there with a blush on her face wearing his gray robe which was tied tightly around her waist.

"Um, I-I'm ready if you are?" She said softly determined to get it over and done with so her embarrassment would end as her face practically glowed from her blush. She walked to the double bed and sat down on the edge and with trembling hands tried to untie the robe, but to her surprise Asuma stopped her.

"Just relax, you're trying to force this on yourself." He said as he pulled her hands from the knot on her robe. He lay back on the bed with his hands folded under his head closing his eyes serenely, and Aya continued to sit on the edge of the mattress looking as tense as he felt as slowly her blush began to dim.

"You looked beautiful today."

"Huh?" Aya caught his eyes for the first time since entering the room.

"I said you looked beautiful today, you still look beautiful." She flushed once again.

"Thank you. Can I…can I lie down too?"

"Yeah." Aya lay down next to the dark haired boy and studied him taking in his features as he lay there. He truly was handsome with his black spiked hair and beautiful red ringed eyes, they were so expressive, always they showed something, be it thoughtfulness, care, love, anger, fear. She felt as if it were possible to view his soul if she were to stare into the red depths long enough. Aya had always liked him, though never in a million years would she ever admit it, hell she had only recently admitted it to herself a few years ago…it seemed like a lifetime. Tentatively she reached out a hand and ran it through his dark soft hair, watching as his eyes blinked open at the gesture, though she didn't stop, she'd always wanted to do that. The simple gesture ignited confidence that was hidden inside of her.

"Asuma?"

"Aya?" he tilted his head to look at her just in time for her to kiss him gently on the lips. It lasted for the briefest of moments but it lit a fire in his chest, nothing had ever felt so right, no kiss before had felt like this. Slowly she pulled back and he reached out a hand and gently caressed her cheek as he guided her lips back to his once more, and watching as her eyes fluttered closed.

Her lips were much softer than he had anticipated, and as he rolled on his side, Aya wound her arm around his neck as she kissed him again and again, each kiss deeper and longer than the last. Asuma's hand slowly traced its way up and down Aya's back sending shivers up her spine before settling on her waist. Each touch was tantalizing and had the girl feeling things at an intensity she had never felt before. She pulled him closer once again deepening the kiss, and as his chest pressed against her breasts she moaned softly into the kiss, the touch, intentional or not had felt so good that she couldn't help but make the noise. Slowly the blonde's hands traced along Asuma's well-defined chest muscles and in moments the shirt which had been the barrier between skin to skin contact, was removed and tossed carelessly to the floor.

Aya could feel the robe loosen around her waist, and soon enough felt the gentle and warm touch of a slightly calloused hand run along the soft smooth skin of her back and waist. As he slowly kissed his way down her neck, Asuma cupped her breast and gently massaged it through the soft material of her bra. Aya arch her back as she sighed in pleasure at his simple ministrations.

He felt so relieved that everything he was doing, she was enjoying. He snaked his hand around her back and unsnapped the bra, slowly pulling it from her body, and along with his shirt it too was tossed to the floor, and watched as she pulled her arms free of the robe. Now Aya was clad in only a pair of white panties, and once again pulled Asuma towards her lips as hands freely roamed. At her every touch, Asuma could feel his pants tighten, and it wasn't too long before the girl could feel something pressing onto her thigh, and knowing what that 'something' was, she blushed as she reached for the buttons to his pants and unbuttoned them.

While he removed his pants, Aya tossed the robe on the floor as she lay on the bed waiting for him to continue. However, he simply stared, drinking the sight in.

"You're absolutely beautiful." He said making her blush as he once again ravished her body with kisses, and squeezed her breasts gently, but firmer than last time, making her take in a shuddering breath as her back once again arched in response. So many things she was feeling, so many sensations were building up, everything was just so new to the blonde, and Aya didn't know how to respond. Slowly Asuma's hand ran down her waist, brushing against the only piece of clothing the blonde had left, the white panties. He could feel her stiffen slightly and worked his way back up once again, giving her more time to relax. They would be going at her pace, Asuma wanted to pressure Aya with nothing.

After a few more minutes it was the blonde herself who discarded the final piece of clothing. Once again Asuma's hand slowly made its descent, and after pausing for a moment to get Aya's ok, he brushed his hand gently along the length of her leg before working his way to her center. Asuma knew it was a stupid thought to enter his mind now as he inserted a finger inside the blonde's tight opening making her gasp, but he couldn't help but be amazed at how warm it was down there. He explored her body, touching, squeezing, kissing, tasting, until finally he found it. One spot that when touched made the girl squirm and moan, panting in pleasure.

Aya couldn't think straight, whatever Asuma's fingers were doing was working wonders on her body as an over whelming feeling began building up inside her as she panted heavily, until finally it as if the wall barely able to hold back the sensations she was feeling broke through. An intense heated pleasure shook her body making her gasp, and in moments she lay on the bed in a daze trembling gasping for breath after her first orgasm.

"That-I-felt-a-amazing..." She said in a pleasure filled daze, nodding her ok and watching as his boxers were removed. Aya honestly didn't want to look at it, but she couldn't look away either. The only thing her mind pondered on was how he was ever going to fit inside her.

Asuma positioned himself at her entrance, then, he realized something. He had completely forgotten about protection of any sort. Forget sleeping with the Hokage's daughter, if he ended being the guy who got her pregnant they might as well kill him now!

"Aya, I don't have anything…do you?"

"My aunt gave me birth control pills months ago, we'll be fine…just…be gentle with me ok?" she asked softly, looking into his red eyes as her pleasure induced high dissipated by the second and was quickly being replaced with nerves. Aya was afraid and trying not to let it show, everyone said it would hurt, not one person she'd spoken to had that much of a pleasant first experience, but that wasn't the true problem, pain she was accustomed to, she was a kunoichi after all...No, the real problem was the fact that Aya knew she loved him. She knew it, but she didn't know how he felt about her…despite her fear and trepidation, the blonde wanted this if only for the memory of this moment, just being here with him…if they never became more than friends at least she would have this…the blonde's thoughts were cut short as Asuma answered her nervous plea pulling her close and resting his forehead against her's.

"I will, I promise." Again he positioned himself slowly pushing into her virgin passage, stopping when he heard her soft whimper of discomfort. "Are you ok?" she nodded her head.

"It just feels…different…just don't move yet." She said in a strained voice, and Asuma did as he was told, and the longer they stayed there, the blonde could feel her body starting to adjust to the intrusion as the stinging slowly faded away. After another nod of her head Asuma continued farther until he bumped into the barrier making her yelp and flinch in shock. Once again he stopped waiting for her to relax and adjust. She gave him a final nod, and looking into her lavender eyes he kissed her deeply as he forced himself through the barrier making Aya cry out in pain breaking the kiss and burying her head into the crook of his neck, her nails digging into his arm and shoulder as she felt him fill her completely.

Aya took shivering breaths as she tried to stop the tears from escaping. Pushing her gently to the mattress, red eyes met lavender ones as slowly Asuma kissed away the tears on her cheeks as he caressed her face.

"I will wait forever if you ask me to." He said kissing her again and restraining himself from moving. Gods it felt so good, she was so tight around him he just wanted to move. Every fiber of his being was screaming for him to move, to claim her as his, but he told her he'd stay still for as long as she needed him too, part of him was regretting that statement. Intertwining her hand with his, the blonde leaned up to kiss the black haired boy.

"You don't have to its ok now it doesn't hurt as bad anymore." That was all he needed to hear, slowly his hips moved, rocking back and forth as he felt the sparks of pleasure ignite in his body. Her pain was slowly ebbing away it seemed, and it wasn't long before he realized that they were starting to match movements, for when he thrust forward, her hips would arch to meet his, they began panting as the pace picked up and they fell into a steady rhythm. The friction from his member began stirring up that newly familiar building sensation in her belly, and once again Aya could feel herself slowly being pushed closer the edge.

'How? How can something that hurt so bad….feel so good?' Aya thought her hips meeting his once again as she moaned softly in pleasure filled bliss.

"I'm…not hurting you…am I?" he asked in between pants.

"No…Asuma…mmmm."

He was close, so close, the sensations his body was experiencing were completely over whelming, and as he felt her walls tighten around him, he knew she was nearing her peak as well and began delivering harder faster strokes driving himself deeper and making her cry out again and again. It was incredible, she couldn't even describe what he was making her feel, it just felt amazing…THERE oh yes right there that was perfect.

"Don't stop…A-Asuma don't stop oohhh…Asumaahh." He loved the sounds she was making; he loved how she cried out his name in breathy gasps as the pitch of her voice rose. Finally when he could hold back no longer, he felt her walls contract around him once again as she arched her back meeting his thrusts, a cry of pleasure filled bliss escaped her throat pushing him into earth shaking climax, a few more thrusts and he released inside the blonde who was still panting from her orgasm.

Asuma gave in to exhaustion as he leaned, resting on his arm so as not to fall on the blonde under him. That had been the most amazingly mind blowing thing he had ever felt, now he knew what all the fuss was about. They both panted softly, sweat glistening on their bodies. Asuma rested his forehead against Aya's, whose eyes were glazed with pleasure induced exhaustion. They shared another kiss before he rolled over to collapse on the mattress as he pulled out of her, he felt ready for another round, but the blonde beside him looked ready to knock out.

Aya didn't know what to do next, she was beyond exhausted and her body ached in oddly a good way. Her mind raced, Anko and her aunt never told her what to do afterwards. They'd been so preoccupied with telling her what to expect that they forgot to tell her what to do when they finished. It seemed however that the decision would not be hers, for she could feel Asuma's arm wrap around her bare waist pulling her flush against his body. Resting her head against his chest Aya gave into exhaustion and in moments was asleep wrapped in his arms. The last thing on her mind was that she wouldn't mind doing that again.

Asuma watched as the blonde slept peacefully on him as he held her. He hadn't lied to her when he said she looked beautiful, because to him she was, she was absolutely gorgeous. The black haired teen smiled as Aya mumbled softly in her sleep and snuggled closer to him. Her wavy blonde hair was down and spread around her head like a golden halo, and her normally pale skin was tinged pink. Asuma wondered to himself if her skin would ever return to its natural color after this, the thought made him smirk as he shook his head. Reaching over he turned off the light, and grabbing a blanket that had been pushed aside he covered them both as he planted a kiss on her forehead. Asuma couldn't help but think that Aya contained some kind of ether worldly beauty as the moonlight cascaded over her sleeping form, with a smile he closed his eyes he let sleep claim him.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Asuma awoke the next morning wrapped in a blanket with Aya still lying peacefully across his chest. Moving slowly as not to wake her, he made his way to the bathroom to take a quick shower, and as the warm water ran down his back, he couldn't help but wonder how their relationship would be now. Asuma really liked Aya, he always had. It started growing slowly when he was around nine or so, but only increased more when she started training with him and Shikamaru…that was four…almost five years ago right after their first kiss. But how did she feel about him? Obviously she trusted him that much was clear, but did she like him in the same way he liked her? Shutting the water off and wrapping a towel around his waist he sighed, it appeared that only time would tell him these things. Getting dressed Asuma spared another glance into his room and found that Aya was still fast asleep nestled peacefully in the blankets. Going down stairs he decided to make breakfast for them.

O0o0o0o0o0

Minato walked around the village annoyed, he hadn't seen his sister at all since yesterday afternoon and it was almost noon now, and as much as he didn't want to admit it he was beginning to worry. Not even Naminé could distract him, and she was trying to.

"Minato, she's fifteen, I'm sure she's fine." Silence… "Minato-kun? Hello?" Nothing. Finally she sighed, and using her sand strung him up by his ankle.

"HEY! ! !" he yelped as he dangled above the ground flailing his arms frantically.

"Finally a response!" She said with a laugh as she lowered him to the ground righting him in the process. "Minato-kun, just let it be, Aya's in ANBU, she probably got pulled for some late night training or something like that." Minato nodded.

"You're probably right…Hey, I thought you were going to go back to Suna today?"

"Nope next time, Mom's going to come down and spend some time here. Then when the next ambassador leave comes along I'll go back home to spend some time with Dad. He's been teaching me how to do that vanishing sand thing where you just disappear. I haven't gotten it yet, but I'm getting there. I just don't have as much chakra as my father does." Minato grinned.

"So we get to hang out! Sweet. Maybe dad can send you on a few missions with my group if you get bored."

"I'd like that. Looks like having dual citizenship has its perks huh?" She said with a bright smile. Together they made their way around the village until they got to Naminé's grandparent's house. They had the same routine every time they hung out in Konoha. First they would go help her grandparents with their medicinal herbs, maybe even prepare the herbs for salve making, then they'd go to the lake where they would train together, then go swimming, after that they would go get lunch then go hang out at the Hokage mansion and watch a movie or something like that and sleep at one of the two houses.

They had gone through the routine since they were young, especially since their parents were such good friends. Minato looked forward to the routine every time Naminé was in Konoha, because even though they did the same thing every time, neither ever got bored of it.

O0o0o0o0

Aya woke with a yawn as she stretched in the bed, the large _empty_ bed that smelled like Asuma. It was then she realized that the previous night's events were not a dream. She was in Asuma's room wrapped in his sheets wearing absolutely nothing. Sitting up she looked around the room holding the blanket against her body, the blonde couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart.

"He's gone…" She swallowed thickly as she looked around once again, now trying to find her clothes. 'He didn't even stay with me…does…does he not care? Does he not like me how I like him?' Sitting on the edge of the bed she buried her face in her hands as she sighed, feeling the dull throbbing sensation in her lower body still.

"Good mor- Aya what's wrong?" She could smell the scent of bacon and eggs. Aya immediately felt guilty. She said she trusted him, but immediately thought the worst of him.

"Nothing Asuma, just tired still." She said honestly. 'He made us breakfast.'

"Well go back to bed, the food will be here when you wake up, I'll be here too."

"Will you stay with me? Please?" she asked blushing once again.

"Yeah, I'll stay." Asuma said with a soft smile, and walking in and after closing the door behind him he lay back on the bed. Aya still wrapped in the blanket snuggled up to him once again. He always made her feel safe and sleepy. Closing her eyes she drifted off into dream land.

O0o0o0o0

Once again Aya woke, this time feeling the warmth radiating from Asuma who lay beside her snoring softly. Smiling she sat up and with great reluctance left the bed. Finding the robe on the ground she picked it up and put it on as she walked to the bathroom down the hall not wanting to disturb him, a bath seemed like the perfect thing to have at the moment. She turned the hot water on and gave herself a quick scrub down before allowing the tub to fill with the steaming liquid. Finally she settled in the hot water and sighed contently. She let her mind drift. How would their relationship be now? Would they still be friends? Would they be more? She knew they'd never become less, if anything last night brought them closer. For the better part of an hour she let these thoughts flicker in her mind until she finally realized that the water had begun turning cold.

Climbing from the tub she dried off and pulled her hair into a messy bun. Glancing to the door Aya noticed her dress hanging where the robe had been, it was exactly where she had left it the previous evening. She left the bathroom and snuck back to Asuma's room to grab her bra and underwear, only to get frustrated when she couldn't find her panties. With a sigh of defeat she snuck back to the bathroom and put on her bra, once again slipping the dress over her head. It seems that she'd be walking home today, because there was no way she'd be running roof tops commando. She brushed out her hair and pulled it into the side pony she was known for before exiting the bathroom for the final time. As she walked back towards Asuma's room, Aya paused. She knew that Kurenai kept some of Asuma's old clothes in the attic, before the thought could exit her mind she pulled down the steps and climbed them poking through some of the older boxes of clothes until she found what she was looking for.

O0o0o0o0o0

Asuma woke when he felt something lightly shake him. Blinking awake he looked into lavender non-Byakugan eyes.

"Hey." He said with a smile.

"Hi." The blonde said answering his sweet smile with one of her own.

"Are you leaving?"

"I was thinking about it, well after I ate breakfast first." She saw Asuma smirk.

"How can you get home without these?" He asked holding up her white panties expecting her to turn red and begin blushing, however, much to his surprised she only grinned at him.

"Don't need them, I have these." She said lifting her dress up the side enough to reveal Shuriken printed boy's underwear. Now it was Asuma's turn to blush, and Aya enjoyed every second of it as he gaped at her.

"Where'd you get those! ?"

"The attic of course." She said with a laugh as she released the hem of her dress. Asuma rose from the bed quickly.

"Fine then I'm keeping these!" he said twirling the panties on his finger.

"You can't take those, they're my favorite!" Aya said reaching for them only for Asuma to quickly pull them away.

"And _those _were my favorite! Let's call it an even trade huh?" She sighed and stared at him begrudgingly.

"WERE as in past tense! You don't even fit in them anymore…Fine, but the next time I'm stealing them back."

"OOOH, next time huh Aya?" Asuma said with a wink, and realizing exactly what she had said the blonde's face turned pink. "You want to make that next time sometime soon?" he asked jokingly only to receive the surprise of his life as Aya stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his neck pressing her body firmly against his making him blush as she smirked at him.

"Maybe…but I have one thing to say to you…" she whispered sensually in his ear before practically tackling him onto the bed. "GIVE ME BACK MY PANTIES! !" For only in the short moment of Asuma's surprise did Aya have the upper hand as she pinned him down trying to snatch the white boy shorts from his grasp. In moments the black haired teen recovered from his shock of being jumped by the blonde and laughed as he pinned her beneath him tossing the panties aside as he tickled her mercilessly making the blonde screech loudly squirming to get away as she laughed, though her tactic was proving to be quite ineffective as Asuma straddled her continuing his ticklish onslaught of terror. Finally he stopped letting Aya catch her breath as her giggles slowly subsided as they stared at each other.

"What is it?" Aya asked softly.

"I really want to kiss you, but if I do I don't think I'd be able to stop myself from going farther than that." Asuma said softly, the restraint was clear in his voice, and hearing this it almost felt as if a jolt of lightning had struck the blonde as desire struck her hard. Immediately she wrapped her arms around the black haired teen and pulled him back on the bed as they began kissing each other fiercely. Asuma's hips ground against Aya's making her moan softly as her hips brushed against his, she couldn't help it, she wanted him again, she need him again…right now. Those words had flooded her with desire to an overwhelming level, and the one thing she knew for certain was that she didn't want him to stop himself. His hand made its way between her legs and began rubbing her through the underwear making her gasp as she clenched his shirt and bucked her hips again panting heavily.

"Well these are filthy, you can't wear those now." Asuma said pulling the already damp shuriken printed boys underwear down her legs feeling himself harden as he hurriedly removed his clothes again. Aya tossed her dress to the ground and unhooked her bra as Asuma pulled the garment off and began devouring her lips and worked his way down her neck following the curvature of her body until he reached her breasts. He took the pink bud in between his teeth biting down gently making her moan once again as he sucked on the nipple briefly before giving the other the same treatment. Again he continued downwards tantalizingly slow, too slow for Aya because her hand made its way in between her legs to relieve some of her want, but to the blonde's surprise he caught her hand in his.

"Impatient are we?"

"Asuma, please…"She panted, she needed relief but did not expect it when he moved his head kissing his way down her body, she knew almost instantly what he was going to do and blushed looking away as he moved down and began licking and suckling her lower region actually making her scream as she threw her head back in sheer pleasure.

"OH KAMI! ASUMAAAA!" Never had she thought a thing licking and biting at her down _there_ could ever feel this good. Finally he thrust into the blonde groaning as he felt her body slowly accept him once again, this time however to her surprise he flipped over so she was on top. Her eyes were shut as she felt him fill her completely. She could still feel the dull ache from last night, but it was soon forgotten as slowly she moved her hips, her hands holding on to his shoulders for support. It was so tantalizingly slow, and now he wanted nothing more than to plow into her. Aya smirked as she looked at him, then Asuma realized it as he saw her hips twitching, itching to go faster. She was teasing him! Finally when she could take it anymore and Asuma couldn't stand it any longer she rocked her hips back enveloping him in her hot tight center with far more force than before. He rolled over again pinning her below him as he thrust into the blonde deeply making her moan loudly as he panted.

"You're a dirty little tease you know that?" he said kissing her lips once again, when they broke apart Aya was smirking.

"You know you liked-ohhhh" her sentence was cut off as his fingers began massaging her clit as she panted heavily as he continued to thrust into the blonde, her nails digging into his shoulder.

"Who's the tease now?" Asuma asked bringing her just to the brink of orgasm before stopping, stopping the teasing, stopping the kissing, and stopping the thrusting.

"Asuma…why'd you…? Don't stop…!" Gods she _needed_ this, she needed that sweet release, why did he stop? No one entered the room, and she could hear no one down stairs. Once again her hand made its way to complete the job but he grabbed it and held it against the bed. She looked at him in confusion and went to use her other hand when he grabbed that one too. The whole time he was smirking at her. Aya's body felt so tightly wound up and it was driving her crazy.

Hell if he wouldn't move she would, and wrapping her legs around his waist she pulled him towards her making Asuma blink and then smirk at her. Rolling over so she was once again on top, he grabbed her hips thrusting into the blonde making her gasp in pleasure as she rocked her hips back and forth riding the stiff member panting, gasping, and whimpering in utter bliss as she got closer to that relief she had been craving, this time Asuma didn't stop her as she continued to thrust faster and harder against him groaning at the delicious friction, and holding on to the head board for leverage. As she reached her peak she shuddered and trembled atop him before finally stopping to catch her breath as she collapsed against his chest.

Asuma turned over so she was on bottom again without waiting for her to recover from her climax and lifted her legs pulling her closer as he thrust into her. It wasn't long before Aya was trying to meet his thrusts with her own once again. She didn't want these feelings to ever stop. She just wanted to feel this way forever, just she and Asuma doing this forever. She felt the spreading heat as he released his seed inside her again, as he slowly pulled out making her wince at the unfamiliarity of the feeling.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked panting softly and watching curiously as Asuma walked to the bathroom connected to his room. He turned the shower on before coming back out, pulling her gently from the bed and led her into the hot bath. He soaped her down massaging every piece of her body he could reach. He started with her breasts kneading them and feeling as her smooth skin slipped underneath his fingers softer than silk making the blonde moan softly as he kissed and licked at her neck, the hot water beating on them both. He continued lower his hands rubbing in small circles down her waist and settling on her hips practically making the blonde melt at his touch. She leaned against him wanting to feel more of it and in the process felt her body brush against his hard length making the black haired teen let out a shuddering breath. This made Aya blink, he'd been focusing on making her feel good, and she'd just been focusing on feeling good not reciprocation.

She decided to change this, and after turning to face him Aya did the same for him. She kissed him deeply massaging his muscles under her fingers as she moved from his chest down his abs and continued going steadily lower. Aya remembered her aunt's words and remembered how he had made her feel, the absolute bliss with nothing more than his hands and simple touches, the blonde tentatively wrapped her hand around his firm length she wondered if she could make him feel the same way as she began to move her hand along his shaft. The sharp intake of breath made her pause momentarily, but the sigh he released was her sign to continue. After several moments of Aya gently running her hand up and down his length, Asuma seemed to sense her hesitation and wrapped his hand around hers tightening her grip on him and making him shudder once again.

"Like this." He said, the blonde looked up at him and nodded as she began working his length harder. Aya was amazed at how something as a simple as a tighter grip could affect him so drastically, for in moments he had buried his head into her neck and was panting heavily…she wondered what would happen if she went a bit faster. The effect was instantaneous as one hand flew to the wall to hold him up as he panted harder than before. Seeing this Aya slowed down a bit, she didn't want his pleasure to end too fast. Then another thought came into her head, one that made her a bit nervous but thrilled her as well, she wanted him to feel _all_ that she felt, everything. Aya kissed his neck dislodging Asuma from hers and brought their lips together. Kissing her way she moved downward, pausing at a scar just below his ribs, she had been the cause of that during a training accident, closing her eyes she kissed it and continued until she was kneeling in front of him still working his length in her hand. Her nerves were battling her wants of his complete satisfaction, Aya remembered how amazing she felt when he'd done it for her and finally her wants won out over her nervousness as the blonde wrapped her lips around the head of his member making the black haired teen pant harder.

Asuma blinked his eyes open in shock, he had never been more surprised in his life when he felt the blonde's lips wrap around him as she slowly took him in her mouth sucking hard, the affect her actions had on him blew his mind as his body started trembling. He clawed at the wall harder as her teeth gently grazed against the sensitive skin, she was driving him crazy and he soon felt the pressure building once again as she continued working his shaft with her hands, mouth, and tongue. Everything she was doing was absolutely amazing.

"Aya, I'm gonna..." He gasped out warningly, and the blonde understood as she pulled back, and moments later he came just missing her face as the sticky hot fluid landed on her chest and stomach. She looked at him in surprise and feeling a bit of pride, she had made him feel that way. Aya stood as the black haired teen looked at her with an embarrassed blush on his face, the blonde simply smiled at him as she turned to rinse off her body. Asuma blinked and wrapped his arms around the blonde, and finally as they stood under the steaming jet of water she learned his true intentions when he pushed into her once again making her moan in utter bliss as she held her hands against the wall to keep her from moving too much. It was amazing, as the sensations of the hot water cascading down her back, and the feeling of his hard length thrusting into her yearning needy body crashed over the blonde, Aya glanced over her shoulder and realized that all of what she was feeling, Asuma was not, he seemed to be holding back, maybe afraid to hurt her like she was him. Because all the other ones paid off, Aya took another chance.

"Y-you can…go harder…if you want." The blonde said in a breathy voice and the effect was instantaneous. Immediately her breasts were pressed against the wall and her arms were braced on the dripping tile as he held onto her hips tightly thrusting into her faster and much harder than she could have ever imagined being able to take as she gasped in pure elation. Finally courtesy of this new rougher and to her surprise that much more incredible treatment Aya came and within seconds came harder than she ever had before, and only moments after did her legs give out, her body trembling violently as she struggled to stand, the waves of pleasure continuously washing over the blonde as Asuma continued pounding into her holding Aya upright until he too felt the same crashing orgasm she had just experienced.

'That's it he's so good I can't stand anymore…but I still want more.' Aya thought as Asuma continued to hold her upright thrusting into her as he panted heavily. She clung desperately to the slippery wall with each thrust trying to stay standing on trembling legs as her knees continuously buckled, they couldn't stop, not now…not after _that_. Not after something _so good…so absolutely mind blowing_, there had to be something better than what she'd just experienced, Aya was greedy and honestly couldn't care any less and Asuma didn't seem to be complaining at all as he lifted her bridal style. She felt so empty when he removed himself from her, and Aya expected him to end it then and there as she held onto his neck tightly panting heavily and looking up at him through her lashes too weak from her climax to even stand.

'This has to be it, now that her legs have turned to jelly there's no way she'd want to continue.' Asuma thought as he held Aya tightly against him panting heavily as she clung to his neck gasping for breath, the hot water still beating down on them. However it seemed that would not be the case, the look in her eyes thrilled him to his very core as she looked up at him through her thick dark lashes. The blonde's normally lavender colored eyes had darkened to a deep purple as she bit her lip. She wanted more, _more! _That lusty look in her eyes was more than enough to fuel his fire even farther, there was no way in hell he'd disappoint.

Instead of stopping like Aya had thought he would, the look in his eyes changed and immediately Asuma pressed her back up against the wall, and after wrapping her legs around his waist the black haired teen began thrusting into her again with the same intensity as before making the blonde cry out in pure ecstasy as he devoured her lips and neck. She was in complete and utter bliss and this time as she was happy to see, it was apparent that he was too. The sounds she was making, her smell, the silky touch of her smooth skin, the taste of her soft lips, all of it drove him wild, especially when he felt her nails scrape down his back. It was a tantalizing sensation that he wanted more of.

"Again." He murmured in her ear feeling as once again her nails scraped down his back sending shivers up his spine. "More." She continued to oblige his requests as she leaned forward whispering into his ear.

"H-harder." He shook his head believing her breathy whisper to be a question, however when her legs held tighter to him he understood, it was not a question of his satisfaction but a demand for hers. He'd still been holding back in fear of hurting her, but it seems he didn't have to. Asuma slammed into her with dizzying forceful thrusts as the blonde moaned in satisfaction, pulling him close once again devouring his lips with her own. He brushed his tongue along her lip and was immediately granted access as she opened her mouth meeting his tongue tentatively with her own. The kiss became heated as it turned into a power struggle over dominance, a battle Aya gave in to willingly allowing him to take the lead as her hand ran through his wet locks of dark hair the other one still scraping down his back. He could feel the telltale contractions of her body and knew she was quickly reaching her peak as yet again he came burying himself as deep into the blonde as he could, her legs tight around him pulling him deeper than ever. Asuma held her close his face buried in her neck, this time Aya followed but moments after, her body quaking as all of the sensations struck her at once leaving her completely and utterly exhausted. She then realized both could take no more, although Asuma held her tightly he was leaning against the wall in an effort to keep himself standing as he too trembled with exhaustion.

Aya held on tightly as her breathing slowed from its erratic pace, she rested her head on his shoulder as she continued to pant heavily. Aya felt as Asuma's hips twitched, and although she gave a small whimper of pleasure, she couldn't bring herself to respond even though he remained firm inside her. She was totally spent even as his hips twitched again she could yet to answer the call.

"I've…I've got nothing left." She said panting softly feeling as he slowly pulled out of her as the water continued to beat down on them. Asuma reached over and turned the shower off still holding the soaking wet blonde against him as he walked into his room and laid her on the bed. "I don't even know if I can move Asuma." Aya said softly. "I came so hard my legs gave out. Who else can say that?" she said with a smile as he flopped down next to her laughing a bit.

"I never knew you were such a tease." Aya began laughing as she looked the onyx haired teen in his eyes.

"Me neither." She said earning a chuckle from him. Slowly he caressed her face before leaning in to kiss the blonde before him it was soft, tender, sweet, and loving. To Aya this kiss felt different than all the others, it felt more…intimate, as if he'd put every emotion he'd ever felt for her in that kiss to tell her how he felt, how he'd always feel. It took her breath away.

"I love you." He said softly "And it's not just because we had sex, I've always loved you, ever since we were just kids. I'd do anything for you and I'd do anything you ask. Everything we've done together I cherish, and I hate the thought of you ever being hurt. Aya I want to be with you, and not in just this way, but every possible way one can be with another." He said softly watching as Aya lay facing him with tears in her eyes.

"I love you too, I've loved you for the longest time Asuma…I can't tell you when I didn't like you. You're my best friend, and my rock, my voice of reason and my firmest link to sanity when the world's pushing me over the edge." She said with a soft laugh as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I'm glad it was you Asuma. I'm so happy my first time was with you. It would have meant nothing if it were with someone else, but with you…Asuma what we did together means everything to me." Aya said softly smiling as he wiped the tears gently away with the back of his hand.

"I'm happy that I was your first, and I'm happy that you were mine. I'm glad I waited. None of those other girls I felt as strongly about as I do you." Asuma said caressing her lips with his own. "Now, I made bacon eggs toast and all that good stuff. We'll have to reheat it though…and maybe cook new toast…" Asuma said as Aya's stomach growled loudly. After dressing and reheating the food Asuma brought it up to Aya who once again was putting on her bra and panties which she so sneakily stole back and her dress over it all. Together they ate, and after Asuma washed dishes while Aya dried them. Finally Aya made her way to the door but paused as she stood on the threshold, her legs had finally stopped trembling. Asuma spoke watching as she was silhouetted by the sun's setting beams.

"Aya, there _is_ something different between us now…Something more now right? Those weren't just words?" The blonde thought about what he'd just said.

"There should be...I want there to be." she said softly.

"If…if you want something more…I'd want it too...I'd prefer that actually." He said quietly rubbing the back of his head.

"We can be whatever you want us to be Asuma. I love you, you know that."

"And I love you…Would you like to go out again sometime? Maybe have a date that ends like a normal first date?" This made Aya chuckle as she smiled at him.

"I'd like that a lot."

"Me too." The blonde stood in the doorway before finally sighing.

"I have to go my family's going to start worrying soon if they haven't already." Aya said softly watching as Asuma made his way closer to her.

"Well don't keep them waiting we don't want your dad to kill me." The black haired teen said wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close and placing kisses on her neck. He couldn't help but think how perfectly her body fit against his as Aya leaned back into his embrace tilting her head to give him better access loving the delicate caress of his lips on her skin.

"My father won't kill you Asuma, I wouldn't ever let him. I'll see you later." Turning back and giving him a kiss on the lips, Aya bound to the nearest roof top heading towards home. Asuma blinked as he saw a flash of white panties under her dress and stared in surprise with a soft grin. He made a mental note to steal them back next time.

**Ahhh lemons, filled with such citrusy passion…I'm a very perverted person I'm well aware of this fact…Again, questions on the story, plotline, characters, requests even let me know Via pm or review, I'm always happy to answer…**

**Next chapter will be posted soon! Laters! **


	9. Like flies in a spider's web

Dangerous lives

Chapter 8

Like flies in a spider's web

Minato was sitting on the steps of the house when he noticed his sister walking up the walkway. Immediately he jumped to his feet.

"Where the hell were you Aya? ! We were worried!"

"I took a nap at Anko sensei's then got called for an ANBU meeting. We had more training….a lot more training, I just happened to bring spare clothes because I wanted to relax when we were finished." She said motioning to her dress. Minato immediately deflated.

"Oh. I was worried about you, just let us know next time ok?" the bluenette said gently.

"I will Minato-Nii. Don't worry." Aya said as she walked into the house to change.

Minato shrugged and walked from the house. He was off to find Naminé it was almost time for her to start working as ambassador again, and he wanted as much hang out time as possible, especially since she'd been busy with her mom all day. Before he could make it to her house though, he was stopped by Tenten.

O0o0o0o0o0

Herbs hung on lines drying in the large room, Naminé watched as her mother expertly plucked the completely dried plants and dropped them into separate sections of the basket. It was the red headed girl's job to hang fresh herbs where dry ones were removed, she'd been doing this and all sorts of work like this all day.

"All done! I'm going to bring this to Koori-Baa Chan, you finish up your work and we'll go to the basements and I'll teach you some more stuff ok?" Nia said smiling sweetly to her daughter.

"Yes mom!" Naminé had no idea how her mother could move around the room so fast, while half her work was done, her mother had completely finished her job and was moving on to the next thing.

Often her grandparents would tell her stories about her parents when they were her age and younger. Naminé simply couldn't imagine her mother being a quiet girl with very few friends, and could imagine even less her father being feared by a mass populous of people. That always brought questions to the girl's mind, why did they fear her father? What had they thought he had done? When Naminé was younger she would ask for a bed time story, and would refuse to sleep until she got one, and not just anyone could tell her a story, it _had_ to be her father. She could remember the look of surprise on his face when she first asked, and she even recalled how he sat silently stone faced while he thought of a story for his three year old daughter. What she remembered most though was the soft smile that broke through. When he finally opened his eyes the story began.

~~~~****Flashback****~~~~

(**A/N: **This is pretty much Gaara's version of A Tough Life for his daughter, the story of how he met Nia how they fell in love and all that stuff, it can be skipped without missing any of the story, but those who have read Sanctuary only should read it…)

"_A long, long, time ago in the land of deserts and dunes, a monster was born. This monster did not have claws, nor sharp teeth, nor scales and fur. It was disguised as a human child, and the disguise was to protect it from people who would want to hurt him. It worked for many years, until finally the people realized what the boy was. They called him a demon, they called him a beast and a monster and shunned him, not knowing that by treating him like a creature to be despised, he would soon turn into one._

_The boy was alone, and suffered heart ache after heart ache for many lonely years. He had siblings, an older brother and an older sister, but they feared him more than they loved him, and even though they wanted to love him, their father refused to let them._

_Every night the boy would sit alone and lonely looking up at the moon, hoping that someone somewhere would want to be his friend. He didn't want to be lonely any more._

_The boy and his siblings eventually became ninja and they would travel the world. The boy who had been treated so poorly for so long did not know what to do with his siblings. They worried for his safety, yet they feared his wrath. It made the boy's heart hurt knowing that what he longed for was so close, yet so far from reach. As they traveled the world, eventually they came to a green lush village surrounded by trees and rivers. The forests were thick and the trees tall and wide, much different from their sandy home. _

_The people in this village were different. They did not view the boy as the villagers back at home viewed him. Here they treated him like a normal person, they offered him and his siblings food, water, and shelter._

_After they were settled, the boy left to wander the green village, which was so different from his home. Night fell in the village and as the boy walked around, he entered the park. Normally because of how he was treated, the boy avoided people, they would hurt him with their words and actions, and of all things the boy feared being hurt more than anything else. _

_However this evening being in a new village surrounded by new people, the boy sat on the swings and looked up at the moon, knowing that a girl was sitting on the swing farthest from him. He was surprised when she spoke to him without fear, surprised that she had not shunned him or pushed him away like the others had done. The girl smiled and offered him her hand in friendship. He met the girl's family, and they showed him the same kindness. The boy wanted to protect these people who showed him happiness, that, however was not his job. He and his siblings were sent to the peaceful village for a very different reason. They were sent to destroy the village and make their own stronger. After meeting the people who were so kind, the boy couldn't bring himself to lift a finger against them. He was afraid he would hurt them by letting them close to his heart, and so he pushed them away though still refusing to cause them and their home harm._

_The girl he had met was very strong willed and refused to let go of their friendship and eventually began to seek him out with the help of the boy's sister. Many more people from the boy's village were sent to help in the destruction of the peaceful land in which the girl lived. They were cold hearted and mean people who thought nothing of hurting the peaceful girl. Eventually the girl was cornered by four ninja from the boy's village, and they began to hurt her._

_The boy who had been sitting in a nearby tree at the time had taken no notice until he recognized the girl's panicked voice. She asked them a simple question: "Why are you doing this to me?" Their response angered the boy. They said that they were hurting her, "Because she was here." The boy felt rage like no other and immediately saved his friend and killed the people from his own village with no remorse. He would not allow them to threaten her with harm once again. The girl began to apologize to the boy she thought that she had offended him in some way causing him to turn from them. After that she hugged him, it was the first hug he ever remembered, and it would be the hug he never forgot._

_After that the boy allowed the girl's family to help him with his monster. They knew he had it, but were not blinded by the fear of it like those in his village. They cared enough to want to help him. When he returned home the boy decided that he could not hurt the kind peaceful people of the village in the forest, he decided to help them. With the help of his siblings who had grown closer to him after learning of his change of heart they foiled their village's plot to destroy the girl's village. The boy from the desert, who had never had such a friend, felt his bond with the girl grow, they became best friends, and when he went home, their bond of friendship stayed strong._

_Many years passed and the two friends stayed in contact, however they could rarely see each other, until finally the boy was recognized as the most powerful person in the village and was made leader. During that time the girl supported the boy with his dreams, and when it was announced that he was the leader the village threw him a party. The boy made sure his friend was invited, and she happily accepted. Finally the day came._

_He looked for the girl, but she wasn't there. That wasn't like her and it worried him a great deal, for the girl was punctual and disliked ever being late. The boy left the ceremony and sent a letter to the girl in the peaceful green village. He waited days for a return letter, and when it arrived he felt his heart break into hundreds of tiny pieces. The letter was not from his friend, whom he had grown to love like no other, it was from her family. While on a mission, the girl was taken and had been missing for weeks, and her family was still trying to find her._

_The boy immediately hurried off in search of his friend, leaving his home to go to her village. His siblings joined him, and eventually a week passed and they turned up nothing. The last evening that they were searching, the boy stood guard at his siblings' camp, but felt as if he needed to go to one special place the two had shared. Waking his brother the boy took off to find the girl. He finally arrived the next day to a clearing in the woods that was next to a tall beautiful water fall. Under the waterfall was a secret passageway that the girl had shown him many times while he stayed in the village. Although the boy was not a good swimmer he dove under the roaring waters and swam into the underwater cavern where he found the girl cold, shivering, and asleep. The boy was afraid for his friend, she was hurt. When she woke, he brought her back to the village to see their medic. Then it was revealed to the two teenagers that the girl was just like the boy, for she too had a monster in side of her, not as large, nor as strong but it was still there carefully sealed away. That evening the two met in the forest and they each told the other of their love for each other. _

_While trapped, the girl feared that she would never see the boy ever again, and while searching, the boy feared that he would never see the girl again. Eventually the girl became the ambassador for the boy's village and they spent all their time together, and more than once, the boy saved the girl from the dangers of the village. _

_Because she was not native to the desert land, she was not used to how quickly the land heats up, and got stuck outside when the sun was at its peak, then again the boy saved her during a sand storm that lasted for days on end. For you see, the girl worked in the green houses and did not know the signs of such a dangerous storm approaching. Many times the boy saved the girl, and in return she filled his heart with love and happiness._

_Finally the day came that the girl's duty as ambassador had ended, and it was difficult, but they said good bye and the girl returned to her village. She had only made it a few miles or so when the sound of a loud explosion made her come rushing back._

_There were dangerous people in those times you see, and these people wanted what made the boy strong, his monster. They over powered him and used his village as leverage and stole him away. The boy's brother eventually gave chase, and the girl seeing him run towards the cliffs followed. As easily as the boy had been defeated, so were the girl and the boy's brother. Both were almost killed, and the boy's brother most certainly would have died had it not been for the girl who removed as much of the poison from his wounds as she could before collapsing._

_The girl was in agonizing pain, and the doctors said that she only had a few days left to live if help did not arrive in time._

_Ninja from the peaceful village came to rescue the boy, and to save the brother and the girl. As the brother and girl recovered, the boy was brought from the dangerous people's clutches, however he was close to death. The girl was not supposed to leave the hospital, let alone go after the boy, however she pushed aside the rules and went to the boy whom she loved deeply. People were crying for their leader was dead, and upon hearing these words, the girl collapsed by his side. _

_She called his name and gained no response she shook him and pleaded with him to wake up but to no avail. With tears streaming from her eyes, she kissed him, and around the pair a green light started to grow. It was the girl's monster which had until that moment been sealed away. She didn't want the monster's power, she didn't need it so she willed it to revive the boy, and to power up what left of his monster there was. _

_The monster warned her however that if she were to do this she would die because the only powers she had left was its own, she told it that it was fine with her and that she was happy. The monster then informed her that the original carrier of the monster's energy, her father, had died in the same way the boy had done. Hearing these words only furthered the girl's drive as she willingly gave her life to bring the boy and his monster back, and when she fell slipping into darkness, the boy still had yet to wake. _

_The boy himself was walking in darkness until he could see a growing light with a figure moving towards him. It was the girl. She told him that she loved him, and how much she cared, and that she was sorry, but for what she wouldn't tell. The boy however seemed to know and refused to let go of her hand, he would not let her slip away, not unless she would be going with him, so together they waited for what felt like years. Suddenly they heard it, it was the sound of a heart beating, and soon it was joined by another as the darkness slowly started lifting as the darkness was illuminated with bright streams of energy._

_Then they opened their eyes to see the ninja from the peaceful village standing over them. The village elder gave her life to bring the girl back from death, and the peaceful ninja gave their energy to bring them towards consciousness. The girl took the boy's hand as together they thanked those who had helped them, and as together they prayed for the old desert woman who had given her life to save theirs. _

_Soon after the two were married, it was a private and secret affair for the two were not but teenagers, and the only ones who knew were very close friends and family. In years they had been blessed with a child, who soon became known as the princess of the desert._

_The End_

_~~~~****End flashback****~~~~_

Naminé smiled at the thought of her father's story, though it had taken years of telling, the girl finally came to realize that the boy in the story was her father, and the girl in the story was her mother, and the child at the end was her.

"Naminé, I thought you'd be done by now my little desert bloom." The red head blinked and realized that she totally spaced out.

"Sorry Mom got lost in space for a moment there."

"That's ok love, it happens all the time to me too." The older woman said with a smile taking the basket from Naminé's arms. "So tell me, what is on your mind?"

"Nothing really just remembering Dad's bed time story from when I was younger, it was my favorite." Nia smiled.

"That my dear is because you know it's true. That story is something Gaara holds close to his heart. That's why he made us these." She said pointing to the black and silver charm with the symbol for love on it tied around her neck. "As you know your father is very protective of us, and these charms call him to us in times of emergency. He had them crafted especially for us, they activate with chakra, blood, and tears. One of those three things lets him know that we're in danger. We talked to Naruto when Gaara was having them made and apparently there is a similar jutsu that the fourth Hokage invented that is what this jutsu was based on. Your dad's afraid to lose us and I don't blame him baby, the world's a dangerous place…Naminé will you promise me something?" the brunette said suddenly as she turned to face her daughter taking over the red head's work of hanging herbs. Once the girl nodded, her mother continued. "Promise me that you'll never get over confidant. Promise me that if you ever need your father's help, or my help that you'll ask for it. Will you promise me that?"

"Of course I'll promise Mom...but I'm not going to use this unnecessarily, I'd never want you or dad to get hurt if it's something I know I could handle."

"Good, but if it's something you can handle we wouldn't get hurt. Just be careful love and don't forget to ask for help when you do need it. You get that stubborn streak from your father." She said pointedly making the red head grin. "Now go down stairs, Minato-kun is down there waiting for you." Nia said pushing her daughter from the room with a gentle nudge.

Naminé headed down the stairs and met Minato in the living room.

"Come on, we have a mission you want to come?"

"Yeah! Let me get my stuff."

Minato watched as the girl hurried off, it wouldn't be a tough mission just checking up on a few areas near the border.

O0o0o0o0o0

Tenten, team 8 and Naminé stood before the Hokage and received their orders. They would be checking up on several spots along the border that had not checked in recently. Once confirming the presence of the patrols or the presence of enemy they were to report back to the village, and to not engage unless they were attacked first, simply observe. It was a high ranking C mission because there were still two members of the group that were genin. The squad made their way from Konoha and headed to the closest area first.

The first three areas were simply late in their delivery of status updates, one even being sent as they spoke. The fourth area seemed to have had some trouble with bandits and they were currently waiting on ANBU to have them brought to the prisons on Konoha. By the time they reached the farthest out post, it was night time and they arrived silently. The two patrols were slain and lay in pools of their own blood. Once Tenten cleared the immediate area, Naminé hurried over to check on the Konoha ninja, there was nothing she could do for them.

"Tenten-sensei, the bodies are still warm. Whoever did this could still be around." The girl said quietly to the bun haired woman. Tenten nodded and gave the warning look to her group, and signaled Minato who discretely activated his Byakugan.

"How many and where Minato?"

"Sensei, were out-numbered." The bluenette said in a very serious voice.

"By how many?"

"Three to one each counting Ume, there's about eighteen of them."

"Kaya, confirm this." Tenten said to the Inuzuka girl. The shaggy haired teen sniffed around and her ninja hound Ume started growling.

"There's roughly twenty or so Sensei, Ume's telling me that about five or six are at Jonin level."

"My Kikai are telling me the same thing Sensei, I've already sent some back for reinforcements when we first arrived at the site."

The five ninja stood back to back waiting for the enemy to strike. Minato stood in his stance waiting and watching the enemies, Kaya and Ume were crouched and ready to pounce while Tenten pulled out one of her many weapons scrolls, the sound of Toshi's Kikai could be heard buzzing angrily through the clearing. Naminé scanned the area, and with some of her chakra infused sand she began shifting the earth beneath them grating the rocks into usable sand in case of an emergency. The red head didn't want to rely on her sand, especially since the only other person able to do the technique was her father. That would put a giant target on her back, and was something she did not want to happen.

A flash bomb went off blinding the group, and the fighting began. Minato fought and deflected the shuriken that came towards him. Kaya had already transformed into beast mode and was clawing away at one of the opponents with Ume. Toshi was blocking hits as they came, and using his kikai to drain the enemies' chakras. Tenten was fighting against two at once and holding her own as she watched out for her students, and Naminé was leading one of the enemies a good distance away before her kunai was knocked from her hand. She ducked a blow and put her palms to the ground summoning the sand she had been creating. The man was stunned when sand blocked his kunai, and was even more stunned when it began to bind him tightly.

"W-What the hell is this!?"

"The last thing you'll ever see." The red head said quietly before clenching her hand making the sand implode and crush the enemy. Quickly she headed back to the center of the fight, unaware that she had been watched by three others before she returned.

Minato struck quickly and precisely disabling his first opponent before kicking him away and ducking to avoid a stray kunai. A swarm of beetles attached themselves to the owner of the kunai in front of the bluenette, and after giving Toshi a nod of thanks Minato went back to fighting. Another enemy shinobi went flying back as a twister of black and brown crashed into it, the spinning stopped and Kaya looked around for another victim and began trading blows with a nearby shinobi while her ninja hound Ume growled before pouncing onto a nearby enemy that tried attacking her master from behind. Tenten had killed one of her opponents and was currently fending the second off when the sound of a whistle came. A smoke bomb was thrown into the center of the fighting group, and immediately the enemy ninja began falling back, disappearing into the trees.

As the smoke cleared Tenten and the group watched as the ninja fled until finally they were alone she quickly began counting the members of her group.

"He, heh, heh, look at those S.O.B's run! ! !" Kaya shouted happily. Toshi was recalling his kikai, and Minato and Tenten were looking around.

"Where's Naminé! ?" the bluenette said in a panicked voice as he looked around. Tenten too was looking for the red headed girl, she had just been there!

"I have her tagged, if she's taken by the enemy we can find her." Toshi said simply as he sent out a Kikaichu beetle. Immediately the group began to follow the scent until Kaya stopped.

"Toshi, we're going the wrong way, her scent is going this way." The brunette said pointing in a different direction. Tenten looked torn.

"Minato, you and Kaya follow that scent. Use your Byakugan and do not engage. Run first or send up a flare. Toshi and I will follow the beetle's scent. Leave signals in the wood so we can follow you." With that the group split looking for the 5th member.

After another mile or so, the Aburame led Tenten to a clearing and stopped.

"Damn it." He said as the Kikaichu beetle landed on the dead beetle on the ground. Tenten and Toshi immediately hurried back to where they last saw Minato and Kaya.

O0o0o0o0

Kaya and Ume followed the scent until it led them to a split in the forest, the same scent going in different directions.

"Minato, we're going to have to split up, take Ume with you and keep going down that path, I'll follow this one, use her to sniff me out if you find something." Minato nodded at the plan and immediately ran down the left path with the ninja hound while the brunette Inuzuka hurried down the path leading to the right.

Minato followed as the dog continued to run, and eventually it stopped near a tree. Using his Byakugan the boy looked around until a flash of red caught his attention, there tied to the branch of the tree was Naminé's red sash, they had been tricked. He climbed the tree and pulled the sash free and held it to the dog's nose. Ume once again ran through the forest following the scent until finally they stopped exactly where Kaya lay, right at the edge of a wide river.

"Kaya!" Immediately Minato ran over noticing a large gash above her eyebrow which hadn't been there before, the Inuzuka girl was out cold. He had only moments to register the sound of Ume's growling yelp and the snap of a branch before he felt a blinding pain in his head and blacked out.

**UH OH! Minato's in a bit of trouble here and what happened to Naminé? What's in store for the both of them? Questions comments or just your thoughts on my story, you can PM me or drop a review and I'll get back to you! **


	10. Never reveal information

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 9

Never reveal information, the worst thing they can do is kill you

'What's going on? Why…why am I on the ground? Weren't we just fighting enemies? It's quiet here…way too quiet…if we had won then Kaya would be talking her head off that loud mouth…Toshi would be telling her to shush and Minato would be sitting next to me…there would be some kind of noise…so why is it so quiet?' Slowly the girl opened her eyes and found herself in an empty room. Naminé groaned as her head throbbed shooting stabs of pain.

'Damn it they caught me. Maybe there's some way out?' Naminé sat up slowly rubbing her head and looking around the cell using her healing chakra on her head lessening the pain until it was almost nonexistent. The door had a small window and she could hear people talking.

"This was perfect, they wanted someone who knew things about the Hokage and we got him, and now the girl? What better than to bring someone who knows even more about the Kazekage, she's a bonus! Besides she was the only sand ninja there meaning she's either high in rank or knows the Kazekage personally. We wanted information on one and get a gold mine about both dropped in our hands, what better for us?" Naminé swallowed dryly hearing these words. The sound of an opening door could be heard along with the sound of another man's voice.

"Get the girl, if she isn't awake yet, she certainly will be after this." Naminé ducked behind the door as it opened, and once the man stepped in, Naminé pushed it closed getting the man in the back of his head with a well-placed kick. She watched as he fell to the ground, and at this point she really didn't care if he was dead or not. Snatching the kunai from the man's pouch, Naminé watched as two men rushed into the room once they heard their comrade fall.

"Chakra Seal no jutsu!"(**A/N:** very unoriginal name I know, still can't come up with anything good) She watched as the larger man's hand began to glow and looked at him wearily.

"Listen kid, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, how bad you get beat up depends on you. If you come with us it'll save you a good beating." Naminé said nothing and watched as the smaller of the men approached her, not yet noticing the kunai in her hand. As he charged the girl she swung the kunai making him jump back in shock, his arm bleeding. Once again he charged, but this time aimed for her legs making the girl drop. The sudden impact with the ground made Naminé lose her breath and in moments she felt searing pain in her hands as the kunai cut her palms, the blade stopped just inches from her throat, her hands holding it at bay.

"Do the damn jutsu already!" The man came over and applied the chakra suppression seal to Naminé's shoulder, and immediately she felt herself weaken as her chakra was sealed away. With the last bit of energy she had, the red head managed to shove the kunai away from her throat, and seconds later it impaled the ground making her gasp at how close she was to death.

She was lifted by the larger man and thrown over his shoulder as she kicked and pounded her fists against his back futilely. In minutes she was dumped unceremoniously on the floor in front of a tall graying man with dark green hair. The energy he put off and the smell of the room made Naminé nervous, she could tell just by being in his presence how vast the difference in their abilities was, and she could smell the scent of fresh blood.

"Tell me dear child from Suna, and do answer honestly. What do you know about the Kazekage?" hearing this Naminé's eyes widened just a fraction before she gave the man the Sabaku patented death glare.

"Absolutely nothing. He's the man who gives orders that's it." Her eyes followed him as he walked across the room and picked up a knife.

"I was hoping we could do this without your blood being spilt…You're quite a beautiful girl, it's a shame really that it will not be the case when I'm finished with you. Before I begin, allow me to introduce myself." The man said with flourish as he bowed before the restrained teen before him with a sick smirk. "My name is Itami Kuroudo, and my job is to cause pain." He said taking the blade and slicing the girl's arms. Naminé flinched in pain as she felt the sharp edge slice along her skin again and again up and down the entire length of her arms. Some cuts were deep, other's shallow. Naminé was so confused, what had happened to her sand armor? Did it fall off when she was knocked out? Or when he suppressed her chakra?

"Now let's try this once again girl, what do you know about the Kazekage? What is the Kazekage's weakness?" he asked tilting Naminé's head upward forcing her to look into his eyes.

"I don't know anything!"

"Let's see how long this story plays out…" Itami said bringing the blade to her skin once again making Naminé grit through the pain as the two men held her in place. Hours passed yet the girl revealed nothing. Eventually she was returned to her cell and wanted nothing more than to nurse her bleeding arms. Pain wouldn't let her sleep, as she sat against the wall feeling her arms searing as though they were on fire. She could hear someone moving in the cell next to hers. She focused on the sound to block out the pain and the next morning came all too quickly.

Once again Naminé was dragged from her cell, this time however she was chained to shackles hanging from a beam instead of being held in place.

"You've been given the night to think, now are you willing to talk?" Naminé stood in stubborn silence glaring at the man before her, her arms already ached as she stood on her toes to try and relieve the pressure on her joints. Itami merely shook his head.

"Very well then stubborn child, we shall commence where we left off." He said taking another blade from the pile, this one with a serrated edge cutting up her shoulders, back, stomach, and legs. Another hour passed as the red head gritted her teeth in pain.

"Do you wish to speak?"

"D-drop dead." Itami walked back to the table and placed the blade back in its original position. This time he walked over towards the fire and removed a red hot piece of coal with a short pair of metal grabbers and pressed it against Naminé's bloodied skin making her scream in pain.

"You know, if you'd just talk I'd stop." He said removing the burning coal from her skin and placing it onto another location making her scream once again, her eyes burning with unshed tears. "You see, I know you know something, and I'll never stop until you tell me what that something is." He said pressing the coal on her arm and holding it there as he walked to stand in front of her.

"If I knew anything...I'D NEVER TELL YOU!" he removed the coal from her arm, tossing it back into the fire, and removed a long metal object nestled in the flames, and as it hit the air, it glowed red. Naminé stared at it wide eyed.

"Let's try this hmm? I'll ask you questions, and for every lie or unanswered question, you'll be struck with this, let's begin. What village are you from?" he asked lowering the glowing metal rod towards her skin.

"Suna." She gasped out.

"Well done, so you can speak. Next question: What is your rank?"

"Chunin."

"Good girl. What were you doing in Konoha?" he asked, Naminé could feel the heat of the iron rod.

"I was on a mission." The rod touched the skin of her stomach for the briefest of moments before pulling away making her yelp in pain.

"Elaborate. What was your mission girl?"

"I was to help the team out before I went back home."

"So we're getting somewhere I see. How do you know the Kazekage?"

"I don't. I have friends in Konoha and figured that going on a mission there would be the perfect opportunity to be able to see them again so I asked him to send me there." The hot iron was pressed against her skin once again she bit back her scream of pain.

"You're not telling me the entire truth about the Kazekage. Let's talk about Konoha Ms. Ambassador, what do you know about the Hokage?"

"I know just about as much about him as I do the Kazekage which is none." She said panting heavily trying to ignore the pain as once again the hot iron burned into the flesh of her back making her scream as he held the heated metal firmly against her skin. Naminé wanted to be sick, she could smell her own skin burning under the intense heat.

"Sooner or later you'll talk, they all talk. After all you seemed to be quite good friends with the Hokage's son. You're just a hidden trove of secrets, aren't you Sabaku Naminé?" The girl looked up wide eyed in horror. How had he known who Minato was? How did he know who _she was? ! _ She didn't let anything slip, nothing at all! "Yes, that's right I know exactly who you are, you're the princess of the desert and the daughter of the Kazekage. You weren't that difficult to spot in a crowd my dear, there aren't many red heads in Suna, and even less wielders of sand, you're one of two. One being the Kazekage himself and the other his offspring and only child so you see it was quite simple to find out exactly who you were. Eventually you'll spill the secrets of the desert Kage Sabaku no Gaara." Hearing this Naminé narrowed her eyes.

"I'll never tell you anything about Suna or my father so you'll just have to kill me!" she growled out.

"Oh in due time I will, but for the time being, I'll just be making you wish you were dead." On the torture continued until finally Naminé was thrown into her cell for the man had grown tired with her.

The girl's voice was hoarse from screaming and she was exhausted, her body ached, her arms, legs, and especially her back burned, and all she wanted right now was to go home and be with her family. She knew that if she willed it her father could be here in an instant, but these people were out to hurt him, no kill him, who knew what would happen to him if he was summoned here. Naminé refused to be the cause of her father's death. The lack of food and water was taking its toll on her, her reaction to the pain was slowing and the world was becoming sluggish. She licked the burns on her arms and stomach blowing on them relishing in the chill that numbed the pain only slightly. She could hear screaming echoing down the hall. Naminé blocked her ears and waited hoping for silence eventually she passed out.

She woke hours later to silence, it was night time, somehow she could just tell it was, the room felt cooler. Resting her head against the stone wall she closed her eyes, going back to a time not so long ago in Suna. Her uncle was the lead torturer and interrogator they had and it had taken her two weeks, four days, eleven hours, and thirty six minutes to convince Kankuro to put her through the training the Suna ANBU were put through. Oh Naminé remembered it like it were yesterday, her parents had nearly killed the puppet master and when they learned that it was she who forced him into it she'd been grounded for weeks.

_O0o0Flashbacko0o0_

"_Naminé, what we put those ANBU through is ridiculous, there's no way in hell I'm doing that to you." Kankuro said in annoyance as he walked down the hall, the red head trailing him._

"_Uncle I don't want to be weak, I don't want some slip up happening because of me! I am the daughter of the Kazekage, I am a chunin months away from the Jonin exams and a Sunagakure Kunoichi. I am not strong enough to deal with mental and physical torture, I'm not and I know it."_

"_Naminé enough,-" suddenly the red head grabbed her uncle's arm bring him to a stop._

"_No. My parents shelter me, this is a fact. Because I'm my father's daughter I will be targeted, that is a guarantee. They'll expect me to be a coddled child and that's what my parents are surely turning me into. If anything ever happens to me and my team…If we ever get captured eventually they'll find out who I am and they'll want to use that to their advantage and they will if they can. Please…" Kankuro looked down at Naminé and scowled._

"_Your aunt's a bitch…she taught you the face well. Fine we start tomorrow, that's when the ANBU start, you'll receive a mask…we don't want the others going easy on you because of who you are." Smiling the red head hugged her uncle._

"_Thank you."_

"_Don't thank me now because if I do my job right you'll hate me afterwards."_

"_Never, I'm asking you to do this, for ANBU it's mandatory."_

"_You're a crazy girl and sometimes I'm sure it's a terrible combination of both your parents in you coming out at the same time." The puppet master said shaking his head. "Meet at the ANBU headquarters first thing in the morning, roughly 4am. I'll tell your dad that you're interested in what I do. Drop it at dinner tonight actually and do not tell them that you'll be participating in the exercise, they WILL kill me understood?"_

"_Perfectly."_

"_Good, go home and get some rest you will definitely need it." The day and evening passed quickly for the red head and it wasn't long until she was walking down to the ANBU headquarters though the shadows of the impending sun which had yet to break through the horizon. She lined up with the ANBU when she arrived and eventually all of them were taken to separate rooms to begin their training and it wasn't long for the red head to find herself in a room with another woman who was to act as the torturer. _

"_When you find yourself in this kind of predicament, you need to learn to embrace the pain and fear, because as long as you can feel what they're doing to you…you know you're still alive, and your life is the most important thing next to the information you hold. There will be a time, and it's at certain points for everyone, but it does exist where the endorphins release in the middle of a session and you feel next to nothing. I'm going to teach you how to get to that point. Do you rely on chakra to fight?"_

"_Sometimes." The red head responded "More often than not I fight without it."_

"_That's good because the first thing they do is remove your chakra to avoid any possible jutsu you could use on them. I'm going to seal your chakra for the duration of this exercise and after that we'll begin."_

_O0o0 end flashback o0o0_

Everything she remembered in sharp detail, the tactics used, the words she was told…her uncle was right, she'd been pissed with him for a good week after but this now that she thought back on it was vital to her life, she'd been right, she needed it. Naminé just didn't know she'd need to use this new found knowledge so soon. Opening her eyes the red head looked around before closing them once again as she began meditating on what to do next. Naminé hated meditating, she just couldn't sit there and do nothing for long periods of time, but now she wasn't she was focusing her mind, remembering her training and reliving the experiences of both the past and just from yesterday absorbing the pain and making herself numb to it, and mentally preparing herself for what she was to face next.

O0o0o0

The next day Naminé was chained to a chair, and this time a wet cloth was draped over her face, and water was poured over that. Water torture. The cloth covered her mouth and nose and she could take in no air without breathing in water. Naminé thrashed and coughed as the water invaded her senses, she felt like she was drowning. She could hear someone screaming, yelling, pleading, as her lungs burned from lack of oxygen and water. After several minutes the cloth was removed and she gasped for air taking in deep shuddering breaths as she coughed out excess water from her lungs.

"Have you anything to tell me?"

"My Dad's going to kill you." She growled spitting at him and coughing up more water. Itami wiped the spit from his face.

"Charming. Nothing else? No? I see…How about you?" Naminé looked over and immediately her eyes burned with tears as her breath caught in her throat, they hadn't trained her for this, for all sorts of things yes but not for something like this…they had Minato too, and he looked absolutely terrible. His eyes were pained and he was covered in blood, bruises, and gashes as he looked at the desert princess who still coughed up water panting for breath.

"Don't talk." She said firmly to him seeing the resolve flicker in his eyes along with his worry for her. Once again the cloth was draped across her face and water poured on top of it. This went on for hours, and in between the simulated drowning he would pierce her skin with needles and literally rub salt into her wounds making the bleeding burns and slices feel as if they were on fire, eventually they traded places and forced her to watch as the same happened to him. Minato had the same look in his eyes when he looked at her, and the red head flinched, she knew not to talk, his eyes were screaming at her to keep her mouth shut no matter what happened to him.

Hours had passed and finally Naminé was tossed back into her cell, her heart was breaking, they had Minato, they were doing the same thing to him. Just the thought of that had her eyes burning as she began to cry. She didn't care anymore she was scared more for him than for herself, now she knew that even if she was willing to risk her father's safety to escape, she couldn't…not without Minato too.

"Naminé? Is that you?" The red head stopped and hurried to the door as fast as her body would allow.

"Minato?" She could hear tapping on the wall, he'd been right next to her the entire time. Pulling her headband from her arm the red head used it as a mirror to check the hall, there were no guards, but she could see his arm reaching out through the slats in the door window. Quickly she brought her forehead protector back into her cell and reached her arm out reaching for him. Their fingers touched, then their hands connected and she felt as his thumb began rubbing along her hand. Naminé closed her eyes and let her forehead rest against the wall, Minato was doing the same thing on his side.

"We'll get through this Naminé I promise we'll get home." He said softly. Naminé nodded, but she was starting to feel as if this whole ordeal was just beginning, she had a bad feeling it was going to get so much worse for both of them, it was only day three. She simply gripped his hand tighter to let him know she'd heard his words.

O0o0o0

The torture went on for days, each being forced to watch the other until finally at the end of the 11th day the man had had enough of their resilience. Itami was irate, Naminé and Minato had been lashed, beaten, starved, burned, cut, gone through water torture, been electrified at varying volts, and nothing worked, the girl had simply refused to speak and it seemed she wouldn't be cracking anytime soon, he'd assumed that she'd be the easiest to break. Releasing Naminé from her bonds and watching as she fell to the ground weakly, he snatched her up by her arm and shoved her towards one of the guards.

"Bring her to the common area and let the men have at her, if we can't get through to her by breaking her spirit, perhaps we can find our answers by breaking her body even more. She is to be brought to me tomorrow morning, alive. And take the boy with you as well, make him watch." The man nodded and grinning lecherously he dragged the girl from the room. Naminé stumbled sluggishly down the hall before she was shoved into the room, landing weakly on her knees her body aching and mind groggy from the 11 days of torture and starvation. The door closed behind them as the man who brought her into the room spoke.

"Itami said we can do whatever we want with her, the only condition is that she's to be alive tomorrow morning when he returns for her."

"Well, I'm sure we can find something to do with her, after all the little bitch already knows her place, look at her, on her hands and knees ready to please, heh, heh, heh." The man on the couch said inciting laughter from the rest of the group as a third man walked over standing her up, pulling her towards him and tilting her face upwards to look at her as Naminé pushed at him weakly trying to force him away.

"She's got a pretty little mouth there too, don't worry girlie, we'll teach you how to use that right."

"Don't you touch her! Don't fucking touch her!" Minato yelled angrily only to be hit in the stomach and silenced by one of the now six men in the room, two held him in place as he coughed up blood.

Naminé glared at the one holding her, as the men laughed at the bluenette's pain, they looked back over surprise as one of their own began screaming. The red head had bitten down on his hand hard drawing blood and as a result he slapped her, taking a hold of her hair in a vice like grip making her gasp in pain.

"Good girls don't bite you little bitch, you're gonna get a lesson in manners." He snarled tearing at her shirt and shredding it in the process making the girl squirm away crying out in panic as she tried kicking and pushing at him, only to be shoved over to a fourth man who pinned her arms and began pushing her pants down making Naminé squeal in fear. At some point as she tried to escape, the red head felt her head connect with something hard and heard a yowl of pain behind her. Immediately she was dropped and made to run but paused looking back at Minato. He looked pissed that she even thought to stop for him.

"JUST GO DAMN IT!" Naminé flinched at the harsh tone of his voice and as she tried to run away her moment of weakness was proven to be her downfall for her arm was snatched in an iron clad grip and Naminé was slammed to the ground, her head smacking into the hard stone floor with a sickeningly loud thud throwing her into darkness as pain radiated through her body.

"Naminé! Naminé get up!" Minato watched as she lie on the ground her hands twitching and her eyes barely open as she lay unmoving, he'd heard the loud smack when her head hit the ground and knew she was either unconscious or trying to stay awake and in control of her body, if she was it seemed to be a losing battle.

She desperately tried to keep from blacking out as her body went numb, everything was slowly fading away she could hear the sounds of the men speaking, Minato yelling, but couldn't register the words he said as it began to slowly fade. Everything soon became clear when she felt the bones in her ankle snap. The pain was immense and Naminé couldn't hold back the scream that came from her throat or the tears that poured from her eyes as her senses roared back to life bring her out of her semi unconscious state. Minato's heart wrenched as she screamed, he'd heard the bones snap, but nothing struck more fear into his heart than what happened next.

"Now you can't run." He said with a smirk as he ripped her pants off as she sobbed and straddled the panicked girl's hips unbuttoning his pants as she tried to squirm away.

"MINATO HELP!" The more he fought the more they hit him, he didn't care, he needed to get to her no matter what happened to him. No one noticed as a single tear, one of many which had fallen, dripped from Naminé's face and landed directly on the Kanji love pendant on her necklace making it glow a soft red.

O0o0o0o0o0

Nia was an absolute mess when the team returned without her daughter, and Gaara was no better. For the girl's grandparents it was déjà vu, for the same thing had happened to Naminé's mother. Naruto had sent search parties out to scour the lands near where Naminé and Minato had disappeared from, they however returned with nothing after days upon days of searching for the two missing teens.

Gaara wanted to scream and destroy everything in his path, he wanted to throw things around and trash his office and cause extreme amounts of pain to those responsible for the disappearance of his cherished and beloved child, his daughter, his world. But more than anything he wanted to see her face, he wanted to know that she was ok and alive.

He had barely held his composure when Naruto arrived in Suna with his distraught wife and only his daughter's red sash. It seemed his friend could feel his pain and once again relate to the heart wrenching agony he felt, for Gaara that wasn't enough. Naruto had two more children, two more miracles in his life, two more parts of him he could cherish and adore…He'd only had one child, his daughter, his miracle baby that by all logic shouldn't even have survived her birth but by some kind of miracle did, she was his and his wife's very reason for living and they lost her.

Gaara remembered nothing after the initial news, he had blacked out, but when he returned to his senses he was on his hands and knees in his office shaking, with agony or with rage he did not know, perhaps it was a mixture of both, though not only for his daughter but for Naruto's son as well. He could see how pained the blonde was, yet despite this he left his grieving family to travel for three days to personally bring word of what happened to their children and to escort his wife back to Suna. Naruto had his utmost respect for that…Now eleven days later Gaara sat with his wife in their bedroom holding her as she cried silent tears into his chest.

This is how their days went now, if they slept, they woke up and cried, they barely ate, Gaara went to work silent and stoic, Nia stayed home and cried, Gaara returned home at lunch to find his wife asleep somewhere new every day having completely exhausted herself out crying over photos of their daughter, their world, he brought her to bed and returned to work, then he finally went home at the end of the day only to find his wife awake but crying in the bed holding Naminé's baby blanket tightly in her hands, there he would comfort her through the night. Many times he would feel the heating of the matching silver bracelet on his wrist, only to find that it was a phantom pain imagined by his psyche, that or it would be set off by his wife's many tears and was glowing a golden color. Naminé's bracelet would remain as cold as ever.

O0o0o0o0

For Naruto it was much of the same he went from work to home, no longer the happy energetic man he once was. He sat silently looking at the things his son had given him through the years, things from simple pebbles and feathers he'd found, to birthday and father's day cards. As he looked at the photograph of his son, never in his life had the blonde Hokage ever felt so broken.

Hinata would not leave the house, not to see her family, nor did she let them into the home, she didn't want their pity, condolences and sad glances, they were wrong, her son was not gone, they just weren't looking hard enough for him. She hadn't fainted when she heard the news she was too shocked from it. Her son could not be missing, he couldn't be gone. She knew by some kind of motherly intuition that he was alive, they both were. They were too young to be gone from their families so suddenly. She needed to stay strong and keep a positive outlook for her daughters' sakes, even if it killed her inside to pretend like nothing was wrong, even if behind closed doors this persona proved to be a façade. She had to do it.

Kazuki had refused to go to school, she refused to go to the hospital, she refused to train, and she refused to accept what had happened. She barely ate and slept. Kazuki sat in the entry way of the house waiting for her big brother to come home from his mission. She wanted to be the first one to greet him when he came home, she missed her big brother.

Aya was heartbroken and refused to give into her emotions, she trained constantly working herself to exhaustion every day refusing to acknowledge that her brother, her rival and friend may never come home. At the rate she was going she would have killed herself with her efforts had it not been for Asuma who held her close and allowed her anguish to come forth as she broke, her brother was gone and there was nothing she could do about it.

O0o0o0o0

Gaara sat at the desk in his home office trying to catch up on neglected paperwork when again he felt a burning sensation on his wrist. He closed his eyes feeling the burn, so many times in the past it had just been his imagination, so much so that he didn't want to check it, the disappointment in seeing the silver bracelet sitting dully on his wrist hurt more every time it turned out to be a phantom pain, every time he died a little more inside. That was how he felt and what he was currently thinking until it started burning hotter against his wrist. He looked down in awe to find the metal glowing a dull red and only getting brighter, wasting no time he flooded the silver bracelet with his chakra and vanished from the room.

O0o0o0o0o0

She couldn't breathe, she was crying so hard she couldn't breathe, and the fact that he was sitting on her didn't help matters either. She was panicking a good kunoichi never panicked, but how could she not? Naminé pushed the first man off kicking him away with her good leg only to have a second pin her arms above her head to keep her from thrashing around and a third climb on top of her taking the place of the first. She could feel his hands wandering up and down her body, rubbing along her thighs and butt before finally landing on her breasts which he squeezed making the girl cry out. That's when she felt it, the familiar constriction in her throat and immediately Naminé began gasping for air in a panic, she was having an asthma attack, her first in over four years.

His heart was breaking, the sound of her terrified sobs, her gasps of pain and her whimpers of fear were killing him. Minato wanted nothing more than to kill every person in this room who dared to touch the red headed desert blossom. He wanted to hurt every one of them who caused her pain, who made her cry. Minato watched struggling to free himself, to get to her as one hand of her attacker stayed groping her chest and the other moved downwards pushing aside her underwear and making her scream and cry much harder terrified at the rough and unwelcome intrusion as she tried kicking him away. Naminé watched through her tears as the man's face lit up in sheer delight.

"We have a virgin!" he shouted with a laugh as the men began talking excitedly around them all looking at her eagerly. "Don't worry cutie we'll fix this problem of yours real quick." The man on top of her said whispering into her ear. Minato had heard him and felt his blood chill as he fought harder against the hold the men had on him as he tried to get to her, pain jolting through his body as the men restraining him kicked and punched the blue haired teen. Naminé was horrified, more afraid than she'd ever felt in her life as she thrashed on the ground in a terror induced panic.

"NO! NO! NO! NO!" Naminé screamed managing to get one of her arms free punching the man on top of her knocking him back, and in moments her arms were pinned back to the ground once again. With that act of defiance she earned a hard slap to the face making the teen cry harder as he quickly began pulling down her underwear. She felt her throat tighten even farther as she screamed, Naminé was terrified, every time her asthma had acted up she was either sick, or at home where her mother, the lead medic at the hospital could do something about it, there was no one here who could help her.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Again they continued to beat him as he fought desperately to get to Naminé, Minato didn't care, he couldn't care not with what was about to happen to her. Minato felt sick there was absolutely nothing he could do for her now, he couldn't escape, had his chakra not been sealed, had he not been tortured, beaten, and starved for days on end, he could have taken them, he would have killed them for even thinking of doing this to her. None of that mattered now he had to do something to save her, anything. Then he felt it, a rising bloodlust emanating from the room, and as he continued to struggle he looked over and was never happier when his eyes connected with those sea green orbs belonging to the man whom he feared most.

'Why is this happening again_?_ Wasn't once enough? Why is this happening to _me again_? Somebody make it stop, someone _please make this STOP!_ I want my Daddy! He promised he'd always save me. He _promised me, he promised me._ Please, _please_…_Daddy please,_ save me this time please!'

"No! Stop it! DADDY! !" she gasped out. They laughed, laughed at her terror and desperation, she didn't care. Right now more than anything in the world she wanted her father to come in and save her just like he promised he always would, she knew it was a lost cause.

"Your daddy ain't here _'Princess', _but you can call me daddy as much as you want." He said with a laugh licking her neck as she sobbed beneath him.

**Now here's a cliff hanger! Uh oh, Gaara's gonna be pissed XD…Now on to a serious note, I feel bad for subjecting my characters to such screwed up circumstances, I really do….sometimes it feels like I have no conscience what so ever…but a lot of the story's future is based on some of these messed up events! This event however is far from over because Gaara is now there and I love an absolutely enraged Gaara getting ready to slaughter a group of people to keep his child safe…makes me warm and fuzzy. =) ahem yes any ways… As usual questions comments either pm them to me or drop a review and I will gladly respond to you!**

**Next chapter will be up soon most likely in the next 3 days or so. Till then! **


	11. A Father's Love And His Wrath

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 10

A Father's Love and his Wrath

**Hi guys! time for the next part mewahahahah gotta love the wrath of Gaara! oh and I just flew across the country today, My best friend is getting married! Laters! ^_^**

When Gaara reappeared it was in a large room and what he heard and saw made him see red. Terrified screaming, pain filled sobbing, and begging. The sound of a slap was heard in the room as the crying only increased as another man pushed the frightened girl's hands aside while another's hands wandered and touched where they did not belong, two other men one with dried blood on his face were in the room cheering the first two men on. Then he saw it, and though it happened in only a brief one or two seconds it felt like an eternity. The man on top of _his daughter_ began pulling down Naminé's underwear as she screamed sobbing hysterically.

"**Kill him." **Shukaku's voice growled lowly in his head.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Gaara glanced towards the voice and saw Naruto's son Minato being held down and beaten by three men as he struggled to get away, to get to Naminé, his eyes connected with the boys and he immediately saw the relief flash in his eyes before it was soon replaced by panic as Minato looked back towards Naminé as he continued to struggle against the men's hold on him.

"**Kill them."**

"No! Stop it! DADDY! !" Naminé gasped weakly as the men laughed. His heart panged when she called out for him, that was _his daughter _and they dared to _laugh. HIS DAUGHTER!_

"Your daddy ain't here _'Princess', _but you can call me daddy as much as you want." The man on top of her said with a laugh running his tongue along her neck as the red headed teen cried harder cringing at the touch. The sight made Gaara's blood boil.

"_**Make him suffer." **_For the first time in a very long time Gaara embraced Shukaku's rage allowing it to fill him, giving him thoughts and ideas he hadn't had since he was not but a young child, since before the demon had been re-sealed.

Gaara was pissed, and was going to kill every fucking person in this room starting with _him_. The sand controlled not only by Gaara but by Shukaku did Gaara's bidding as the man was ripped off his daughter, who was still pinned on the floor by her arms screaming frantically, and in seconds he was slammed into a wall and crushed slowly as he screamed in agony, his skin being ripped from his body and muscle being pulled from his bones and his bones slowly being crushed.

"**Slower, he's not suffered enough yet." **

'No, he _hasn't._'

Gaara made sure his internal organs were kept intact until the very end; this man was _going_ to suffer…finally his blood splattered across the room as he crushed the body painting the wall with his blood as Shukaku purred in satisfaction. The rest of the group stared in shock until they finally noticed Gaara standing there and registered as his blood lust radiated through the room like a thick noxious cloud of poisonous smoke as his sand danced around him imbued not only with his rage, but the rage of his demon. Quickly now that his daughter was out of immediate danger his sand shot out wrapping around the necks of the two men holding Minato in place and crushed them with such force that the heads were severed from the body. The teen dropped to the ground and watched as the third man in front of him began coughing up blood and screaming in agony as his internal organs were pulled up through his throat by the sand. Minato wasn't sure if the man suffocated or drowned in his own blood. He glanced over fearfully and received a stern look from Gaara the blue haired boy did not dare to move, he was too afraid to because he swore he'd caught a flash of golden yellow where sea green eyes should have been.

"Oh shit, it's the Kazekage!"

"What the hell's he doing here? !"

"Someone grab the girl!" Naminé whipped her head over after hearing the men speak, and there indeed her father stood. Never had the red head ever seen her father so enraged.

"Daddy! Asthma!" she gasped trembling violently her hand clenching at her throat as tears flowed from her eyes in torrents. Gaara's eyes widened when they connected with his daughter's wild panic filled ones. Her asthma was acting up? ! How bad as it? How long since it started? Thoughts raced through his mind and immediately the urgency of this situation skyrocketed. She tried immediately to scramble over to him however in the milliseconds that moment took, Naminé was snatched up by the same man pinning her to the ground and a kunai was held firmly against her throat as she gasped in pain and continued to cry. Gaara gave the man a glare that could freeze lava as his sand rose in anger hissing menacingly, but in retaliation he applied pressure to the desert princess's broken ankle making her sob at the excruciating pain and held the blade tighter against her constricting throat. Gaara's eyes widened in shock and his sand immediately dropped to the ground, and Minato winced at the sound of the pained sobs, his heart breaking even more for the red headed girl.

"What do you want?" Gaara asked watching as blood began beading around the tip of the kunai that was against his child's throat, her lips were starting to turn blue he noticed with ever growing panic.

"Your death of course, with you out of the way that will be the key to Suna's undoing making it that much easier for the boss to start the destruction of the great villages." Minato's eyes widened hearing this.

"Fine then, kill me but in return you release my child." Gaara growled.

"Daddy no…don't…" Once again Naminé screamed in pain as more pressure was applied to her broken ankle, Gaara was livid and Minato wanted nothing more than to run to her, he knew better than to do so.

"Shut up you little bitch." The man growled in her ear pulling her hair tightly and pressing the kunai harder to her throat digging the tip in as blood now slowly began to drip down her neck saturating the Kaji pendant. In reaction once again Gaara felt the burning of the silver bracelet against his wrist, this stirred up his rage even more. Naminé felt ready to pass out but pushed it aside.

"**Don't Little One, don't move…Gaara tell her not to move." **Shukaku said softly, her sand was itching to reach out and comfort the child the way it would when she was young.

"NO!" she yelled biting back her scream of pain as he further pressed her ankle. "Don't care…if I die, but not you Dad, Suna needs you-AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The man stomped on her ankle, not just applying some pressure as he had before, but stomped on it. The pain was absolutely agonizing and immediately her stomach lurched and her knees buckled. She couldn't hold back the scream, and now it was seemingly impossible to draw in the lifesaving oxygen she so desperately needed as her hands which had been trying to keep the enemy's kunai knife from going any closer to her neck flew to her own throat once again as she shook, her eyes wide in panic.

Gaara used that mere moment in time where her captor was distracted to capture the man who was holding his daughter hostage, and to kill the remaining man behind them. Her captor was now held tightly in place with the sand, he couldn't move an inch as it squeezed him tightly. Gaara quickly made his way over as the sand holding his child began falling away until all that was left was the sand covering the man's arms.

'We need at least one alive Shukaku.' Gaara thought angrily.

"**FINE, only minimal damage then."** She hissed, however against the red head's will the sand wrapped around the man's hands and in mere moments they were crushed he screamed the kunai falling to the ground with a clatter. During that Gaara had removed his jacket while Shukaku crushed the man's arms next. Naminé fell from his grasp soon after and was caught safely in her father's arms before she could hit the floor. Gaara held his daughter tightly wrapping her in the jacket and scooping her up as she looked at him with panicked eyes trembling in his arms as she clung on to him tightly gasping for air.

"It's ok Little One I'm here, I'm here. Everything's going to be ok." Gaara said softly as he gently stroked her hair and in the process of soothing his child began taking in all the slashes, burns, and bruises on her body that he could see, especially her ankle which was now purple and swollen. He was angrier than he had ever been in a very long time, even Shukaku was cussing up a storm in his head planning ways to make their hostage pay severely for their crimes against the desert princess, she'd stopped after the arms holding the man tightly in the sand's grip.

Minato had never been more relieved, she was safe, they were safe, and Gaara had saved them both, but why did Gaara look so nervous? Naminé he imagined would have been hysterical, and yet she didn't make a sound.

Immediately wrapped in her father's arms she recognized the smells from home, her mother's perfume, the spicy cinnamon scent of her father, the dry scent of the desert, the soft caress of the sand against her arms and face…They were the last things Naminé registered as her vision clouded, her head was throbbing and her chest ached from lack of air as she slipped into darkness.

Gaara held his child tighter to him, his heart jolting as she went limp in his arms, motioning for Minato to approach, which the bluenette quickly did. In moments sand swirled around them, and the bound man with the crushed arms. As they arrived in entrance hall of the Kazekage's mansion Gaara still clung tightly to his daughter who by now had stopped shaking. Gaara stood, and wrapping the man in a solid cocoon of sand, and still holding his daughter tightly against him who was silent in his arms, motioned once again for Minato to follow as he hurried through the mansion until he reached his and his wife's room.

"Stay here." He said softly to the bluenette who shook his head and sat against the wall taking in shaky breaths, Minato felt as if he were on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. His head hurt, his chest hurt, his eyes burned, his body ached, and he could barely breathe. It was overwhelming, he was safe, _they_ were safe and never in his life had he ever felt so useless. He shut his eyes tightly feeling the familiar prickle of salty tears as his body throbbed sending dull spikes of pain radiating through him…more than anything he couldn't help but feel that this situation was entirely his fault. Naminé had been beaten, starved, tortured, and almost raped, and if he hadn't asked her to go on this mission, none of this would have ever happened to her.

O0o0o0

Gaara could see his wife's head lying on the pillow as he quickly made his way over to her.

"Nia. Nia wake up!" He called urgently nudging his wife who sat up sleepily rubbing her eye. He could see the dried tear tracks on her face. She turned her head slowly to look at him, and blinked before her eyes opened wide. She reached out a shaking hand before stopping and holding her head.

"No, this is just another dream, no more dreams I just want my baby back!" Gaara moved closer, and kneeling down he pressed his forehead against the brunette's.

"She's back, Naminé's back, I brought her home. She's having an asthma attack Nia, she's right here, our baby's home now, but you _need_ to help her now!"

"She's back?"

"Right here." Once Nia touched her sleeping daughter's face everything became real, her baby was home, immediately she jumped from the bed turning on the light.

"How long has it been?" she asked as Gaara quickly lay her on the bed.

"I'm not sure. She went unconscious about two minutes ago." He said watching as his wife went through hand seals quickly before lowering her glowing hands to her child's throat. It had been mere moments before they heard the sound of air rushing into their daughter's lungs. Her chest began to fall and rise steadily as her breathing went from labored slowly back to normal. Gaara breathed a sigh of relief and watched as Nia pulled away the coat examining her daughter.

"Gaara…Naminé, look what they did to her look what they did to my baby. Oh Kami they tortured her Gaara. Look at her arms and legs, their all cut up and burned! Gods, I'm going to be sick! Gaara we need to take her to the hospital, some of these wounds are infected, and these…bruises…" Nia said drifting off as she paused in shock at the bruises on her daughter's fair skin, especially when she noticed the dark ones on Naminé's wrists, and then ones on her hips that looked frighteningly similar to handprints. Her breath caught in her throat as tentatively she laid her hand on the visible bruise on the girl's hip and let out a small scream covering her mouth with her free hand, for had her hand been larger the bruise would have matched it near perfectly. Instantly fresh tears made their way down her cheeks, like small rivers, and her heart clenched violently as she whirled around to face her husband.

"G-Gaara, I think she was…oh Kami I think they…they-" Gaara immediately understood her unspoken fear and concern and he shook his head pulling her tightly into his arms.

"No, she wasn't. I got there just in time, I got there before they could do anymore harm to her. I stopped it before it went that far." Gaara said softly holding on to his daughter's hand. "Nia, listen to me, I want you to go to my office and send a letter to Naruto, Hinata and Tsunade. Tell them I have the kids, I have Minato too. Request that either Tsunade or Sakura come down. I want a _full_ evaluation for them both, psyche test, everything ok? Tell the ANBU that one of the men responsible is in the entrance hall, have them bring him to the T&I department because if I handle his interrogation I'll end up killing him and we can't have that." Nia hesitated for a moment, but nodded after kissing her husband and daughter, she headed towards the Kazekage's office. She paused seeing Minato sitting in the hall, reaching down she ran her fingers through his hair making him look up as she smiled at him.

"I'm happy you're both back sweetie." Nia said giving the blue haired boy a kiss on the top of his head as well.

O0o0o0o0o0

Kazuki sat in her father's office helping him with the papers. Ever since Minato had gone missing she barely had the drive to function anymore. This was the only way Naruto could think of to wake his youngest up, keeping her in a busy atmosphere.

"Lord Hokage! A message has arrived from the Kazekage, it's marked urgent!" A young woman said handing the scroll to the blonde who after dismissing the woman opened it immediately.

_Lord Hokage,_

_Our daughter has been returned to us, Gaara found her after the seal went off, Minato was with her and they're both safe here in Suna. It seems as though they had been tortured for information, and we would appreciate it if one of your advanced medics could come down when you come to retrieve your son and give Naminé and Minato both an extensive evaluation. I am not sure of their mental health at this moment, but physically our daughter has lost weight and has infected wounds, and Minato is in a similar state. They're being brought to the hospital at this very moment by Gaara. Any help will be greatly appreciated. My husband apprehended one of the people responsible for their current condition, currently they are being interrogated by Suna's best available interrogator, however when we're finished you may have a session of your own, and if I may suggest Ibiki? He makes our best available man look like a rookie in training. I hope you and your family are well._

_Sincerely, Nia Sabaku_

Naruto read and reread the letter before looking to his daughter.

"Kazuki, mission now. Go find Tsunade, and bring her here, it's urgent, after that fetch Ino, GO!" The girl barely blinked before hurrying from her seat at the desk the urgency in her father's voice was enough to know this was very important. The blonde busty woman could usually be found in the training schools this hour, and that was the first place the red head went to search for her. Hurrying through the school, she entered the room and spotted her.

"Lady Tsunade, there is an urgent summons for you by the Hokage." The blonde looked up and nodded.

"Class, keep practicing until Sakura or Shizune gets here…it's Wednesday so Shizune will be coming. Prepare your selves for a poisons class and DO NOT touch anything in the cabinet or I'll punch you into next week understood?" The class nodded fearfully as the blonde and red head hurried from the room.

"What's going on that I had to cancel class early?"

"I don't know, Daddy said to go get you immediately, we have to find Ino-san as well."

"She'll be in the flower shop, let's go." The blonde said leading the way. As they entered they were greeted by another younger blonde behind the counter.

"Tsunade-sensei, Kazuki-Chan, what can I help you with today?"

"We've been summoned by the Hokage." Ino nodded and followed behind them flipping the sign on the door from open to closed and locking the door. After leading the women to the Hokage's office, Kazuki knocked once and Tsunade and Ino walked in.

"What's up?"

"Gaara brought Naminé and Minato back. Currently they're in Suna hospital, and apparently they've been through quite the ordeal, they requested from us the aid of one of our top medics to evaluate the kids. A T&I evaluation, and a Psych. evaluation. Currently their mental state is unknown. Would you both be willing to go to Suna with me?"

"I have no problem, I can have mom run the shop while I'm gone." Ino said looking towards the former Hokage.

"You don't even have to ask, Sakura's running the hospital, all I'm doing is teaching classes which can be canceled or given to Shizune for that time. I'll prepare my things and be ready to leave immediately." With that said Tsunade turned and walked from the room with Ino close behind.

"Dad, can I go too?"

"No Kazuki, Naminé and Minato are in a bad place right now, I wouldn't want you to see them like this. I'll be requesting two ANBU to escort Tsunade, Ino and I."

"But Dad I-

"No Kazuki. I'm sorry but no. We're going to go home and you're going to stay with mom until I return with Minato. I have to send this letter to Gaara, I'll be back in a minute." Naruto said as he quickly wrote out the short reply on the scroll.

_Lord and lady Kazekage,_

_Myself, Tsunade, and Ino (who will be doing the psych evaluation) are heading to Suna, we are being escorted by two Konoha ANBU. Lady Tsunade is more than willing to help. Thank you for finding and bringing my son back safely, I am forever in your debt._

_-Naruto Uzumaki, 6__th__ Hokage._

Sealing the scroll, Naruto placed it in the pouch and brought it to the falconry, he watched as the bird soared in the sky heading towards the desert.

O0o0o0

Two days later Gaara and Nia sat in their daughter's hospital room, which was directly across the hall from Minato's, her wounds had been treated and her arms, legs, and back were cleaned, disinfected and now were bandaged, her ankle was in a cast, and she was being examined by Tsunade. The village healers had done a decent job, but with Tsunade's handy work, one could barely see the many light colored scars along her arms, shoulders, back, and legs, and the three broken bones in her ankle were quickly mended by the healer. Her concussion however needed time to heal, and as it turned out the girl ended up with a hairline fracture on her skull. The mental evaluation showed a more positive result. According to Ino, while there was damage to her mind none of it was permanent however it was very likely that Naminé would be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder if her conscious actions showed anything.

Naruto sat in Minato's room feeling only relief as he looked at his son. The medical results were similar for him, though most of the damage he suffered was physical and not mental. He had muscle damage and broken and fractured bones from the beatings it was his ribs that took the most damage. In a screwed up sense, it was proof to how he'd struggled to get to and stay by Naminé's side despite the beatings, and despite being out numbered. Minato remained blissfully ignorant to his fathers' presence in his room; he had been fast asleep since his arrival to the hospital and was in and out of consciousness for the past two days. When Naruto arrived earlier in the day Minato had yet to wake up. Naruto watched as slowly his son stirred and blinked his eyes open as slowly he looked around, his gaze finally settling on his father who was immediately up and at his son's side.

"Dad?" he blinked several times before he realized that this wasn't a dream and his eyes widened in shock. "DAD!" Naruto wrapped his arms around his son and held him tightly as the boy shook in his arms, flinching from the pressure on his ribs.

"It's my fault. All this happened because of me, everything that happened to Naminé was because of me!" The blue haired teen said finally breaking down going into hysterics but not sheading a single tear.

"Minato it's not your fault, things like this happen, you didn't know it was going to happen, it's not your fault, it's not."

"Yes it is! I asked her to go with us! I lost her during the fight! When I went to go find her they caught me too." Hearing the commotion several people walked into the room, a female ANBU with a tiger mask, Gaara, his wife Nia and Tsunade. Immediately Minato looked back and forth to both of Naminé's parents.

"Gaara-Sama, Nia-Sama, Please forgive me. What happened to Naminé is my fault."

"Minato, sweetie no, it's not your fault." Nia said softly, Gaara placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Let him speak." The pair exchanged a silent glance before the brunette woman nodded in acquiescence.

"I asked her to go on this mission with us. It was supposed to be a really simple mission, I never expected us to be attacked by so many enemies, it sounds like some crappy excuse I know, but I never meant for this to happen! I'm so sorry for the pain my actions have caused you. I'm sorry I lost her during the battle. I'm sorry I couldn't find her, I'm sorry I got caught. I'm sorry I couldn't keep Naminé safe. I'm sorry I broke my promise. It's all my fault, and I'm so sorry." He said unable to hold back the tears any more. "Please tell her I'm sorry, I wouldn't blame her if she hates me. I won't blame you if you hate me either I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. Please." The room was silent as Minato stared pleadingly as Gaara and Nia. The red headed Kazekage was the first to speak.

"I cannot forgive you…" Hearing this Minato ducked his head and Naruto looked angry and was about to say something but paused when Gaara held up his hand for silence. "I cannot forgive you…because there is nothing to forgive." Minato looked up confusion plain to see in his eyes. "I told you to look out for my daughter, not to be her guardian, it was not your job to ensure her safety, Naminé's a Sunagakure Chunin, she can take care of herself for the most part. That being said though it is your job as her ally to do whatever possible to help her in any way you can and you did exactly that. Not once did you stop trying to get to my daughter, to save her, not even when I arrived. You did exactly as I asked of you Minato, so thank you for doing your best to keep her safe, and thank you for looking out for her just as I asked you to do so."

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry I couldn't do more."

"You've nothing to be sorry for, just get stronger so next time should something like this happen you'll be able to save whoever it is that is suffering. Do that not for me nor for Naminé, but for yourself and on top of it all, forgive yourself. Because I know Naminé could never hate you, and neither do we. Naminé would never forgive herself if she saw you in this state Minato. I must go and get back to my daughter now." Gaara said simply nodding to the teen and walking from the room heading back to his daughter's hospital room across the hallway, his wife after giving the bluenette a kiss and hug followed after the redheaded Kage.

**Angry Gaara was angry, and Shukaku was indeed pissed off. But yes, they're safe and sound for the most part…but what shall become of Itami Kuroudo the master of pain? Is he the leader? Or is it someone else? What are your thoughts? Questions comments concerns, shoot me a pm or a review and I'll get back to you.**

**Next update will be soon! As usual on a monday/or Sunday**


	12. The Missions Continue

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 11

The Missions Continue

It was the day Naruto and Minato were to leave for Konoha, Aya stood in the doorway with Wolf, both watching Tsunade and Ino intently as they guarded Naminé's room. She couldn't believe it, this couldn't be Naminé. It wasn't the same Naminé she knew. This girl was fragile, scared, broken, and a nervous wreck. Naminé was brave, tough, fearless and bold. The dramatic change in almost 2 weeks frightened her more than she'd ever admit. There was fear in her eyes, and the way the redhead would panic when her parents, her father especially had to leave the room nearly drove her to tears.

Naminé had never felt so relieved, but for now it seemed that the only thing she could do was cry, her Daddy had saved her, not her father or her dad, but _her Daddy_. Never had Naminé felt so safe or so loved than she did at that moment as her dad held her protectively in his arms. She knew she was safe.

"Daddy…" she sniffed nuzzling her head into his chest as he sat on the edge of the hospital bed.

"It's ok, you're safe now. We're home no one can hurt you anymore. I promise." Gaara said softly, his hand brushing her blood red hair from her face. He made to move, but Naminé held onto his shirt tighter in a panic terrified he'd leave her alone.

"Don't leave me! Daddy, don't leave please!" she begged more tears streaming down her face.

"I'm not going anywhere right now, I promise. Ok?" he asked the panic stricken teen who looked up at him helplessly with fear in her eyes.

"O-Ok." She said softly as she buried her face in her father's vest once again listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat. In moments from either pure relief or utter exhaustion Naminé was claimed by the darkness of unconsciousness. Seeing his child in this state crushed Gaara's heart, his daughter was much like her Aunt Temari, she was never very emotional and always one to put up a tough front, it took a lot to make her cry and to see her break was killing him inside. He stayed with her for several hours until finally the time came for him to leave, there were things he needed to check in on, like the interrogation for example.

O0o0o0

"Tigress, it's difficult, but you need to be able to witness things like this and keep your composure, whether they be friend, sibling, or, stranger. Composure and self-discipline, those traits are key in becoming an ANBU of the highest caliber." Wolf said soft enough for only Aya to hear. She nodded then inwardly flinched when the Kazekage made to leave the room. Naminé who had once been very subdued melted into a fear induced panic waking the moment her father moved.

"Daddy don't leave! Please don't go, they- what if they find me! ?" Gaara returned to his daughter's side and she took his hand.

"Naminé, I need to leave. He's under strict lock down, not to mention that Lady Tsunade is here and she and Mom will keep you safe. Tsunade was the 5th Hokage and she's very strong. I promise that nothing will happen to you while I'm gone."

"B-but I want _you _to stay." Gaara looked torn.

"Naminé, I can't. I'll be back very soon though." The red headed teen sat quietly for a moment staring at her father.

"Do you promise?" she asked fearfully glancing around the room, her eyes resting on the Konoha ANBU for a brief moment.

"I promise." Naminé reluctantly let go of her father's hand.

"Ok." Gaara took several steps away before casting a sad glance back at his child. He turned to face Tsunade.

"May I borrow one of your ANBU to personally escort Naruto and Minato along with my own ANBU?"

"Yes, in fact I need to send an update back to Konoha as well and inform Hinata of what's happened so far and Shizune on what to do next for classes. Wolf is the leader discuss with him who is to be sent." The red headed leader turned to the man in the wolf mask, but before he could speak, the ANBU spoke.

"I will bring the scroll and go escort lord Hokage. Tigress will stay here with Lady Tsunade, Ino, lady Kazekage, and your daughter." He turned to Aya.

"You know your job. Do it well. I will return in time to help escort Lady Tsunade and Yamanaka-san back to Konoha." Together Wolf and Gaara walked from the room, and Tsunade sighed rolling her eyes.

"'You know your job do it well.'" She said in a voice much like Wolf's making Aya smirk behind her mask. "Is he always that focused? Eh, he probably just didn't want to be the only guy in a room of girls. Weird, most guys jump at a chance like that."

"Maybe he's expecting us to burst out with girl talk and start painting each other's nails." The blonde Yamanaka said. Naminé and her mother smiled softly at this, and even Aya was grinning behind her mask as Ino laughed softly looking at her nails.

"I haven't painted my nails in forever…I think the last time they were done Kazuki-Chan did it at our last Redheads are Awesome club meeting." Naminé said softly making Nia smile.

"Didn't you convince your father to be a member?" Instead of Naminé answering, it was Aya.

"No, Kazuki-Chan convinced him, Lord Kazekage is the Vice President, and Kazuki's the Hokage of the club." They all looked at Aya, and it was then that she remembered that she was supposed to be an ANBU at the moment, it was also in that same moment when she realized that Wolf would have her head had he heard that.

'Oops.'

"A-ANBU have to be aware of everything, no matter how unimportant or trivial it may seem." Aya said covering her tracks quickly.

"That's right…I got demoted when dad joined the club! Kazuki sweet talked him into joining. That little girl's got a way with words, that's for sure."

'You've no idea.' Aya thought.

"No, baby it's the cookies. Your father has one hell of a sweet tooth."

The women talked for a bit, and every now and then Tsunade would shoot Tigress a curious glance.

Finally another week later the four Konoha ninja, (Wolf having returned the previous day) headed back to the leaf village. Aside from having PTSD(Post traumatic stress disorder), Naminé would recover fine physically, emotional recovery would take a bit longer though.

O0o0o0o0o0

Aya was happy to be back in Konoha, and once they were dismissed she headed home to find her brother. She found the bluenette boy sitting in the kitchen with their younger sister pouring over stacks of papers.

"Minato, I talked with the ANBU who went on the mission with Tsunade and Ino, they said that Naminé's recovering quite well." This gained the blue haired boys attention.

"They're back? !"

"Yeah, they just got in a few minutes ago." Hearing this Minato hurried from the house.

"Nii-san! You were helping me with my homework!" Kazuki cried after her older brother as he hurried from the house.

"Sorry Kazu-Chan, want me to help you instead?" Aya asked with a smile to her little sister.

"Yes please, here." The red head said handing her sister the paper. Aya looked at the paper and the red headed girl honestly thought she could see sweat pouring from the blonde's head.

"Umm…well this is easy, it's just simple math! You just- Oh! What's that? Sorry Kazu-Chan, mom's calling me, gotta go!" Aya said hurrying from the room trying to stave off embarrassment. Math was NOT her forte, she may have beaten Shikamaru in a few games of shoji, but that was strategy, not math. Kazuki slumped down in defeat, so it seemed both her older siblings were not so good in the mathematical department. Maybe she could ask her dad?

"Yes! That's genius! A Hokage _has _to be good at math! It's perfect logic!" Packing away her school supplies Kazuki hurried from the house and headed towards the Hokage's tower.

O0o0o0o0o0

Naruto sat at his desk looking through several scrolls assigning mission ranks when a knock came to his door.

"Come in." The door opened and Shino (who was filling in temporarily for the receptionist his wife) entered, Kazuki following.

"Naruto, I tried telling her that you really aren't the person to ask for help with this but she just won't listen to reason." The blonde cocked his eyebrow upon hearing this as Kazuki walked to the side of her father's desk and placed her math homework on top.

"I need help with math homework." Naruto put on a determined face as he looked over the page.

"Alright Kazuki, the thing you have to remember is that this is just a paper, if you don't understand the first question, go to the next one." Naruto said, reading the paper. Shino watched as his determination broke with every question he read, skipping to the next when he didn't comprehend the prior. Eventually he ran out of questions to skip to.

"Naruto. You have a meeting with Shikamaru in ten minutes, would you like me to put off the meeting with the lazy _genius_ so you can help Kazuki with her homework?"

"Yup." Naruto said, not catching Shino's true intentions with his wording. "It might take me a bit but I'll get this done in no time." Naruto said holding the paper in his hand and glaring at it. Shino shook his head as he closed the door. In twenty minutes a rain cloud could be seen hovering over the 6th Hokage's head as he slumped down in defeat.

"Eh, Kazuki I'm really not the best person to ask for help with your math homework, you know." He said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Dad, no offense…but how did you get this job if you can't do math?" The blonde blinked.

"I worked my butt off and gained the village's recognition." He said simply as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh…So math has nothing to do with it?" the girl asked tilting her head.

"Nope. I guess if you're a medic ninja it would be different, you know with chakra percentages and such… Why don't you ask your mom for help, or Sakura?"

"Who needs help?" a voice said coming from the door. A pineapple haired Jonin walked through the door looking lazily from the Hokage to his daughter.

"It's nothing Shikamaru, just math." The blonde said handing the paper to the brunette who ran a quick eye across the page.

"The answers are 47meters, 36 ninja tools, 11 enemies, 0.25 inches thick, 63 feet, and the last one completely depends on the strength of the thrower." He said simply handing back the paper to the red head who looked astonished.

"How'd you know THAT? !" the blonde asked with wide eyes.

"Just because I slept through lecture doesn't mean I didn't know it already."

"Shikamaru-Sensei, will you PLEASE be my teacher for math?" Kazuki asked pouting as she hit the shadow ninja full blast with her puppy-eyes-no jutsu.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"PLEASSSSSEEEE?"

"No."

"PLEASSSSSSSEEEEEEEEE?" Shikamaru blinked in surprise, because instead of Kazuki begging, this time it was Naruto.

"Fine! But only because it's so troublesome to listen to your dad beg. Be at my house at 6:30 in the evening, Temari or I can help you then."

"Yay!"

"Why didn't you just ask Aya for help? She's pretty smart."

"I already did, but I think we found her weakness. Math." The shadow ninja simply shook his head. A strategist that was bad at math, the thought was simply absurd.

O0o0o0o0

Minato definitely felt like the "third wheel" so to speak. He sat at a table with Ino, Tsunade, Sakura, Hinata, Anko, and Hanabi. Although they were discussing the person whom he wanted to know about, he couldn't help but feel as if he were stuck in the middle of girl talk.

So he had learned that Naminé was recovering quickly, he also learned that her favorite flavor of tea was jasmine, and her favorite juice was mango. Her mental stability was strengthening, so was her hair due to that new deep conditioning formulating conditioner. She was allergic to animals, but had several pets, one in particular was a bird she had hand raised from infancy that lived in her room…vicious bird…she used to use it to send messages until she learned that the bird preferred to bite the hands of those it didn't like, namely anyone but Naminé, even her dad…that bird had a death wish. The bird's name was Mystery because the gender of the bird was just that, a mystery. It turned out to be male. Minato called him misery, because that's all he caused the Konoha Chunin.

Apparently her favorite color was blue green (Turquoise was it called? Minato could never remember the names of colors girls came up with) and her favorite food much like her father was salted tongue and gizzards. Minato had tried it before, and wasn't quite sure if he'd ever try it again, according to the desert inhabitants, it was a very acquired taste, he agreed with that statement. After a while all he could hear was the girl talk and gossip and that's when he decided to make his escape without disturbing the group of chatting women.

Walking along Konoha's market place the bluenette let his mind wander, he was glad to know that Naminé was recovering, but he had been so worried over the past week he hadn't known what to do with himself. Eventually he made it to the Hyuga complex, training would be a great way to clear his mind.

O0o0o0o0o0

Aya loved taking hot showers after long missions, it was pure utter bliss as the water soothed her sore and tired muscles, unfortunately for her she wasn't able to enjoy more than 5 minutes of her shower because in the time it took for her to scrub and rinse her body down a messenger bird was tapping against the window. Aya let out a sigh and shut the water off, and wrapping the towel around her body she stepped out of the shower and opened the window letting the bird in. It turned offering her the scroll pouch on its back. Plucking out the scroll from its case, the bird immediately flew from the room back out the window. Biting her thumb and pressing it against the seal, Aya opened the scroll and read its contents. Rolling it shut she sent a spark of chakra through it and the scroll incinerated as she hurried from the room to get changed.

O0o0o0o0o0

Wolf waited with the rest of the group for their final members to arrive, in moments Tigress and rat arrived, both from different directions.

"Good, we're all here, let's go." He said simply leading the group out of the village. "Just to recap, the daughter of the Dyamo has been taken, we're to jump in, remove the threat, rescue the girl, and get out, simple as that."

"Wolf, do we have an idea on where she's located? Or when this even took place?" Rat asked.

"It happened several hours ago, I believe they'll be with in a ten mile radius, and in that area is an abandoned mine shaft. Horse and Rat, you will go to the Dyamo's palace and investigate the scene and find a trail, Hawk, Tigress and I will check out the mine shafts, were the fastest in the group, we all have the transmitters set to channel 110 in case we need to get in contact with each other, they have a 20 mile radius so we'll be in constant contact." With that the group split off, three heading towards the mine shaft, and two heading to the palace. Hawk, Tigress, and Wolf arrived at the abandoned mine and made their way inside.

"How big is this place Wolf?" Aya asked softly looking around as the three walked down the tunnel.

"It runs several miles underground." Eventually they came to a split in the road.

"Hawk, Tigress, you two take the left side, I'll take the right side." They both nodded and made their descent into the mine. Wolf made his way deeper and deeper in the mine not finding a single thing so far, several times he had checked in on Aya and their other team member, they had responded with similar results, just as he was about to call for a group status update a familiar voice came over the line.

O0o0o0o0

They were outnumbered but that certainly didn't mean out matched, at least that's what Aya had hoped. Right now it was four against two and as the two ANBU were ambushed they really did not have the upper hand, and the darkness of the mine shaft really didn't help matters since she needed to be able to affect their senses to use a genjutsu properly, especially since she focused more towards visual Jutsus. Right now it was hand to hand combat, two to one, then suddenly the body of her teammate flew past her, kunai embedded into his torso as he lay unmoving on the ground. Her mere moment of distraction proved disastrous and in that second she was grabbed from behind by one of her fallen comrade's enemies and screamed as she felt the razor edges of the Kunai stab into her skin being buried to the wrappings. She was then stabbed twice more as if it happening once wasn't bad enough. Aya was dropped to the ground and left for dead as she gasped holding her wounds in pain. Slowly she began crawling towards the wall to help her stand and after pulling herself up the blonde stumbled down the mineshaft. Pressing the button on the transmitter Aya was about to relay what had happened. And just as she began speaking she heard the sounds of the men once again approaching.

O0o0o0o0

"Wolf…ambushed…Hawk *cough* d-dead…stabbed me…bleeding a lot…being followed…" Wolf could hear the sound of other voices coming through on her transmitter and a gasp although she had fallen. He could hear the blonde coughing once again. "P-please hurry. Please." "Look she's still moving." A male voice said through the line.

"I'm coming." Wolf said quickly having already hurried back towards the split in the mine shaft the moment she started speaking. This time he took the left passageway sprinting as fast as he could, finally after twenty minutes of running down the shaft he came upon a sight that made his blood run cold.

"Tigress! Hawk!" Running over he checked the body, it was cold and the mask proved the identity to be hawk, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was relieved and felt guilty for feeling so, even though he lost a teammate, it wasn't Aya. He hurried down the tunnel after sealing the body in a storage scroll.

"Tigress?" he asked still running down the mine. Looking around he noticed blood smears on the wall and ground. It looked as if she had leaned against the wall for support and had fallen. He flipped on the mic.

"Tigress where are you?"

"She's a bit busy right now." Came a deep male voice from Aya's frequency. Immediately Wolf felt rage fill him.

"Where the hell is she? !" he growled dangerously.

"Tick tock, time's running out…" the voice said tauntingly, in the background Wolf could hear her screaming.

"I'm going to kill you." He growled angrily heading down the mine shaft as fast as he could.

O0o0o00o0o0

Aya had definitely found where they were keeping the Dyamo's daughter, if only she wasn't captured or currently bleeding to death. She had been dragged off after the altercation, especially when they noticed she was still alive and trying to crawl away. Apparently they wanted to watch her suffer.

'Fucking sadists.' Aya thought angrily as she lay bleeding in a cell next to the Dyamo's daughter. She had been coughing up blood for the last ten minutes or so, when she heard a voice over her transmitter which lay on the table. The man picked up the mic. and pressed the button.

"She's a bit busy right now." The group laughed.

"Where the hell is she! ?" Aya didn't even notice as the cell door opened, but she definitely noticed when he dug his fingers into her already bleeding wound making her scream in agony as the stab wound tore further bleeding more. She began coughing up more blood and gasping for air, never had anything felt so excruciating. She wanted Asuma, she wanted him to come save her, Aya wanted to know that she'd see him one more time. Everything was a blur and her vision was clouding, but she could hear screaming and a commotion outside of the cell…was she the one screaming? Was she still screaming? She didn't know…

**Mwahahahah another Cliff hanger, don't lie you love them XD but yes poor Aya's in a bit of a tough spot, and will Wolf make it in time? Questions comments and the like that you may have PM me or leave it in a review and I'll get back to you!**

**Next chapter will be up sooner than you think! ^_^**


	13. A Crack In The Mask

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 12

A Crack In The Mask

Dead, dead, dead, dead, they were _SO_ dead! Wolf could hear the agonized scream not only through the transmitter, but echoing down the hall. Pulling his chakra blades from their holster he filled them with chakra making the blade's end sharper than a razor. Wolf blazed into the cavern like a bat out of hell, the first two guarding the entrance had their throats slit before they could sound the alarm, the third was decapitated, and the fourth, the one with Aya's blood still on his hands was eviscerated and left to die as his entrails poured from the deep slash along his stomach. Eventually he got tired of hearing the screaming and broke his neck. He opened the first cell door and saw the Dyamo's daughter sitting there terrified and in shock.

"Do not move, understood?" Wolf growled not even waiting for a response as he moved to the next cell. Aya listened as the cell door opened again and someone knelt in front of her and lifted her up making her fight down another cry of pain, she was laid on a table moments later and was being poked and prodded near her wounds making her grit her teeth.

"Don't hold it in I need to know if it hurts." Wolf said quickly taking note of her tightly clenched hands.

"Everything hurts, it HURTS!" she screamed coughing and tasting the coppery taste of blood once again as her hands held tightly against the gushing wound. Wolf packed the wound with gauze he pulled from his bag making her scream once again as he pressed down firmly to stop the bleeding.

"Don't worry, Rat and Horse, they're on the way their coming to get the Dyamo's daughter so we can go home, we're going to make it home, I promise were gonna go home, just stay with me ok?" he said still holding her side tightly as hot sticky blood seeped between his fingers. She was losing blood quickly and it was unnerving him.

"I want Asuma…I want to talk to Asuma." Aya said starting to cry as she shook gripping his hand with hers.

"You'll get to talk to him when we get back, I promise." Wolf said his voice straining.

"I don't think so…I'm freezing, I feel so cold." Aya said softly.

"Dammit just focus on me Tigress, just focus!" Wolf said firmly holding her hand tightly as she gripped his. Aya's vision was fading fast and everything was fading into black.

"I'm…..trying…..just….c-cant…" her grip slackened and immediately Wolf felt his heart plummet.

"No! Aya?" he shook her shoulder roughly as he began to hyperventilate. He reached for her wrist in a panic feeling for a pulse and finally felt it, it was there but very weak, she was dying in front of him and there was nothing he could do to stop it. "Please Aya no…"

"Wolf! Tigress!" The sound of Rat's voice was as welcome as air, water or food.

"Rat heal her _now_!" Wolf ordered, and immediately the smaller ANBU went to work healing Aya's deep wounds and forcing several soldier pills down her throat.

"You need to get her out of here fast and to a hospital, with the blood she's lost she's in great danger of going into cardiac arrest and bleeding out, she has organ damage. Her odds are _not_ good Wolf, hurry up and go!"

"Bring the girl back to her father; I'm heading back to Konoha!" Wolf took off carrying the unconscious girl in his arms going as fast as he could.

"Aya wake up! Wake the hell up!" He snapped shaking her roughly as he ran from the mine and through the forest dodging the trees and nearing Konoha. She opened her eyes a mere fraction, and all he could see was the tiny sliver purple of her iris through the eye holes of her mask, but it was good enough for him. "Were almost back to the village, just stay awake ok?" Aya nodded her head sluggishly, catching a flash of red through his eye hole of his mask, though before she could even dwell on it Aya fell into unconsciousness once again, just as they passed through the village gates. His legs were on fire and his lungs felt like they were going to explode but he didn't care, he couldn't afford to, not when _her_ life was on the line. He ran through the village not stopping until he reached the hospital, and once inside he was swarmed by nurses as he screamed for help.

O0o0o0o0o0

"You're doing a wonderful Job Kazuki! I can't believe you've grown so much that Tsunade's allowed you to do rounds already!" Sakura said praising the ten year old who beamed happily, suddenly the speaker above crackled into life.

"Lady Tsunade, Haruno Sakura report to the emergency room stat, I repeat, Lady Tsunade and Haruno Sakura report to the ER Stat!"

"Let's go!" the pink haired doctor said to the red head. "You are to only observe, do nothing unless directed, this will be the perfect opportunity for you to see what happens in an emergency situation, and pull your hair back so it's out of the way." Together they rushed to the busy ER and Sakura took the lead quickly sanitizing her hands and began directing the staff as Tsunade who was still the lead surgeon had still yet to arrive.

"What's the situation?" the Pinkette asked grabbing materials for the trauma victim.

"Multiple stab wounds taken on the field, a large majority of blood lost before the team medic arrived, she's not stable, and her records are being brought from the ANBU filing room so a transfusion can be ordered." The nurse said as the group cut away the pliable armor and uniform to reveal the partially healed wound which was still bleeding. Kazuki watched noticing the dark color of the skin spread around the wound.

"Sakura-sensei, she's bleeding internally." Kazuki said loud enough for Sakura to hear as the medic continued her work.

"Good observation." She said quickly noting the discoloration of the skin. "You. Chest compressions. Keep whatever blood in her body flowing to her brain and heart." Sakura said pointing to a nurse. "You check up on the arrival of those files, this is an urgent situation! You remove her mask and put it away, everyone here has worked with an ANBU patient and knows the rules, they are to go by the ANBU name only and not to have their birth identity revealed in any way!"

Kazuki watched intently as Sakura ordered the group around making notes to herself on how to handle the situation at hand. The girl's hopes weren't high for the patient they were working on, she had lost a lot of blood over a long period of time and was already close to death and from the looks of things she was hemorrhaging whatever blood she had left due to severe injury on her organs. She watched as the mask was removed and gasped in shock.

"Aya?" Sakura was wide eyed as her heart throbbed painfully, she pushed it away. Each one of the medics in the room recognized their patient, the eldest daughter of the Hokage was well known to the medics in the hospital.

"Get Kazuki out of the room now!" One of the nurses grabbed the girl and exited just as she burst into tears.

"Listen you; I need to go back in there so wait here." The woman said just as Tsunade hurried past them and into the room.

O0o0o0o0

"What did I miss?" She took one look and cursed under her breath.

"She needs a blood transfusion, but we're still waiting on her records."

"She's A negative for blood type, Sakura go get it immediately and bring three bags." Tsunade said taking over as the Pinkette left the room. As she hurried by she passed her student who stood crying her eyes out in the hall.

'Damn it, that's what I hate about this job.' She thought as she made it to the nearby emergency blood supply and grabbed three bags of A negative blood and immediately hurried back. Tsunade held her hands over the wound using her chakra to examine the injury looking for further damage.

"She's bleeding internally, we'll have to operate to heal the extensive damage, she has three stab wounds two on her liver and one on her kidney. You call and have the nurses prep the OR Stat!"

'Damn it Aya you'd better not die on me!'

O0o0o0o0

Asuma was waiting in the waiting room when suddenly a wailing child was brought out and placed on a bench by one of the hospital staff, and immediately Asuma recognized her.

'Damn it.' He stood and made his way over to the child and when he made himself known to her the girl flung herself at him and cried into his stomach.

"I don't want Nee-Chan to dieeee!" she sobbed breaking his heart in the process. Asuma lifted her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"She won't die Kazu-Chan, I promise…Aya's too strong to die, she's gonna make it, I know she will." He said as he sat on the chair still holding the crying girl…but at that moment he didn't know who he was trying to convince, Kazuki or himself…Time had passed and eventually the girl cried herself to sleep, Tsunade had sent nurses out with updates every now and then but the prognosis still wasn't good, she was going into surgery for multiple organ damage that usually never ended well. Eventually Sakura came out and headed over to them.

"We need to get Naruto, Hinata and Minato, she's in a very critical state right now and could go either way. We need to get her family in case the worst happens. I'm so sorry Asuma." Sakura said taking Kazuki from his arms. "I need you to go find Minato, I'll tell Hinata and Naruto. You don't have to say a thing, just bring him here." Asuma nodded and hurried from the hospital. Usually at this time Minato was training with his uncle, so the Hyuga compound was where he headed first. He replaced his mask before arriving at the Hyuga estate and entered quickly.

"What are you doing in my house ANBU-san?" Asuma looked over to see Neji standing nearby.

"I'm looking for Minato Uzumaki."

"For what purpose?"

"He is to go to the hospital immediately, his sister has sustained severe injury on a mission and neither Sakura nor Tsunade know if she will pull through, lord Hokage and Lady Hinata are being informed as I speak." Neji's eyes widened in shock.

"We'll be there immediately, what of Kazuki, is she to be informed?"

"She was on staff with Sakura when she arrived, she knows." Neji nodded and Asuma hurried away, his eyes burned and he felt as if he was choking. He could feel his heart breaking. He made it into his house unseen and screamed out his anguish as he punched the wall repeatedly. His mask was flung against opposite the wall, and had it not been reinforced with chakra it would have simply shattered into thousands of pieces. The door opened in moments and Kurenai ran in only to stare in shock as the normally reserved teen demolished his room in a grief induced rage.

"Asuma! Asuma what's wrong! ?" The boy ignored his mother as he trashed his room, and when he finally wore himself out he fell to his knees, his eyes streaming his hands holding his head no longer able to hold back the sobs that racked his body. "Asuma, what happened! ?"

"It's my fault…it's all my fault." Kurenai lifted her son's head to meet his eyes.

"Baby, what happened?" She was terrified but hid it well her son had never done this before, nothing like this had ever happened.

"Aya…She might die and it's all because of me…" Asuma said closing his eyes and bowing his head in shame.

"Baby, no…these things happen. It's not your fault." Kurenai said pulling her son close but Asuma refused to allow the contact.

"NO! I sent her down there Ma, they got ambushed, one dead and Aya critically wounded. She was bleeding out in my arms…it should have been me!"

"Asuma do not say that, I know she's your friend, she's like a granddaughter to me, but don't you ever say that!"

"Look at me!" he shouted gesturing to the dried dark stains on his clothes, "All this is from her! ALL OF IT! I never should have let that happen, I should have talked her out of becoming an ANBU I know I should have! And you don't understand she's more than just my friend Ma, I love her. I love her." He said these words jolting Kurenai's heart, and in moments thought of how she hadn't been able to tell Asuma how much she loved him before he passed. She was overwhelmed with such anguish, Asuma had been gone for over eighteen years now…She pulled her son close once again and immediately he held tightly to his mother as he cried. Kurenai held her child as he broke, and when he grew silent he gently pushed her away. "I don't know what to do…"

"Go to the hospital, and you tell her how you feel, whether she's awake or asleep doesn't matter, you tell her before it is too late and pray for the best, now go." Rubbing his eyes dry with his sleeve Asuma stood and jumped from the window making his way to the hospital.

O0o0o0o0

That evening Hinata fainted for the first time in sixteen years. _Her daughter_ _critically_ wounded could go _either way_? ! The _outlook_ was _grim_? These words sent her into a darkness she hadn't been familiar with since she was a teenager, thankfully there were others around who caught her as she fell, Sakura didn't know what to do, but in moments Hinata pushed the darkness away forcing herself awake. Her daughter needed her _now_ she couldn't afford to faint when her baby needed her.

"Where is she?"

"She was being brought into the OR when I left. I'm really sorry Hinata I wish I could have done more for her." Hinata left Sakura in silence and hurried to the hospital faster than even the Pinkette could even fathom. Sakura had already told Naruto, and the Hokage went to the hospital immediately. Hinata burst through the doors and hurried to the receptionist.

"Where is my daughter?"

"L-lady Hinata! Miss Aya is in the operating room you'd have to go to the ICU waiting room, however there are already an outstanding number of people there in the room, I don't know if we can allow-"

"If you think you can keep me from my child you have another thing coming! Now tell me how to get there before I kill you!" The receptionist stood terrified and simply pointed down the right hand hallway which Hinata immediately hurried down.

**Oh no, poor Kazuki, poor Aya and poor Asuma, tell me honestly who thought he was Wolf? Who figured it out? Questions comments let me know if you have any in a PM or a review. **

**Next chapter is out :12/12/2012 (just because it is 12 12 12 lol) **


	14. To be strong and survive

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 13

To be strong and survive

What the hell had happened? It felt as if somebody had died…or was dying…what was going on? She didn't understand…but then again who was she? Who was _she?_

'Who am I?...! Is that my voice? I sound so weird…what happened? What was I doing? Where am I?'

The world was white, completely white, but the brightness soon faded as shadows crossed her vision, flitting back and forth at unimaginable speeds. They stopped for only moments before moving around once more. The world she was in was not a silent one however she could not comprehend what was being said, though she could make out a sporadic beeping in the background.

'_BIP, BIP, BIP, BIP, BIP, BIP, BIP, BIP, BIP, BIP, BIP, BIP…..BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.' _

Every time the beeping in the back became long and drawn out the shadows raced around faster than ever, and her bright world began to turn hazy, it felt as if she were drifting off to sleep.

'Sleep would be nice….but where am I? I can't sleep until I know what's going on…don't fall asleep, don't fall asleep…'

Pain. That was the only acceptable word to describe the sensation, pure pain radiated through her chest jerking her awake once again. She couldn't sleep, every time she tried she was jolted awake with such an incredible pain…but what if she rested? Would the same thing happen? Closing her eyes but keeping her senses on hyper alert slowly things began to come into focus. The beeping which had once been so frantic was now a steady rhythmic beeping, she opened her eyes and the shadows were taking humanoid shapes and their movements were beginning to slow down, though they still remained unusually fast. Eventually things continued to slow down and eventually she blacked out.

O0o0o0

The wait was agonizing, Hinata stared at the clock and door way to the waiting room anxiously praying to every god she could think of to let her child be ok. Naruto grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly in silent comfort, but inside he was a wreck, terrified and fearing for the life of his daughter. He had sent Kazuki to stay at Neji's for the time being, he did not want her to be here if the worst happened, the fact that the ten year old found out the way she had killed him, and glancing to his left he watched Minato sitting silently in his chair with his head dipped low, Naruto knew he was using his Byakugan to see what was going on, he was taking his cues from his son's reactions, whenever the teen looked towards the door he knew to expect a doctor within the next 30 seconds or so. He watched as the boy looked up but instead of a doctor Asuma walked in with an irate nurse following behind.

"I've told you this is for immediate family only." He growled grabbing at the teen's arm and finally Asuma snapped grabbing the man by his collar and slamming him against the wall as quickly Minato, Shikamaru, and Naruto leapt from their seats to intervene.

"He's fine, leave him alone, Asuma's welcome here and as my daughter's boyfriend and teammate he definitely falls under the category of immediate family, now leave us." Naruto said angrily as Minato pulled the black haired teen back leading him to the seats. The nurse took off in a huff as Naruto snapped the door shut as silence once again flooded the room.

"Have you heard anything?" Asuma asked softly taking a seat next to his sensei taking note of the people in the room, her parents and brother were here along with, Anko, Hanabi and Shikamaru.

"Aya had a bad allergic reaction to the anesthesia, but they treated it and for the last hour or so we've had no news other than that." Shikamaru said quietly. Asuma sat next to his godfather, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands preparing to wait and taking in the news. He closed his eyes hoping, praying that somehow everything would be ok. Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours as they continued to wait hoping for any news that was good. Minato deactivated his Byakugan standing and walking over to the window opening it just enough to get some air before walking back to his seat.

Sitting back down Minato once again activated his Byakugan and watched; something was wrong. In the short time it had taken to rest his eyes something had happened in the operating room, the nurses were frantically working on his sister while Tsunade and the surgeon fought at the door. He watched growing panicked from the escalating fight back to the frantic nurses, suddenly something happened, everything stopped the nurses froze and Tsunade and the surgeon turned to stare for mere seconds before she kicked the surgeon out and rushed over delivering rapid fire instructions, from his peripherals he could see the surgeon heading towards the waiting room. He knew the news was not going to be good.

Naruto watched as his son began shaking like a leaf. Something was wrong, something had happened, and before he could ask the boy's head swung up facing the door, and for the first time he absorbed the true amount of fear and panic that was etched into his son's face. The blonde's head turned towards the door waiting knowing that the news they were to receive would not be good as he held Hinata tightly.

The door opened and the surgeon walked in and everyone looked towards her. The woman closed her eyes steeling herself as she spoke facing Naruto and Hinata.

"The surgery on your daughter was successful, however she had another reaction when we tried waking her from the anesthesia. She went into cardiac arrest twice, her heart stopped beating. We were able to resuscitate her however she's yet to wake up, she should have been conscious twenty minutes ago so we ran more tests and discovered that her brain activity is minimal at best, I'm terribly sorry to inform you of this but because of the reactions to the medications the severity of her injuries, and the immense blood loss…she's slipped into a coma, and I don't know if she'll ever regain consciousness. As I was leaving to inform you of this her heart gave out once again, Tsunade's doing everything in her power to save your daughter. I'm sorry I'm not here with better news." She said leaving the room.

Hinata was wide eyed as she squeezed Naruto's hand tightly, her world was spinning and she felt as if she was going to be sick as Naruto held her tightly against him keeping the bluenette from falling from her seat as she screamed and broke down sobbing hysterically. Quickly Hanabi rushed over to hug her sister tightly as tears poured from her eyes.

Asuma stared in shock, this couldn't be happening, not to her…not to _her. _All of a sudden he couldn't breathe the ability to draw air into his lungs was lost to him as his heart wrenched sending a sharp pain through his chest, the sound of the crying was echoing in his ears as it quickly dimmed and seconds later he fell from his chair landing on his knees, one hand clutching his chest as the pain swelled and blossomed as all of his senses went in and out of focus.

"Asuma? ! Hey snap out of it, Asuma!" Shikamaru said in a panicked voice crouching down next to his god son as Anko hurried over.

"Hell, the kids not breathing, I think he's having some kind of panic attack!" the purple haired snake woman said giving him several hard slaps on the back making him gasp as he began coughing taking in large breaths of air.

"It's my fault, gods it's my fault! Not her, please not Aya no, no, NO!" he slammed his fist into the ground splitting the skin on his knuckles under the pressure, and as he went to go do so again his body was frozen and he felt himself stand against his will.

"We'll be back when he's calmed down." Shikamaru said quietly. "You might need stitches for that." He said softly examining the teen's hand.

Minato closed his eyes tightly trying to control his breathing, and activating his Byakugan he watched as Tsunade and the other nurses looked more calm, they were moving her and he watched as another nurse came hurrying over, entering the room before Shikamaru and Asuma could leave it.

"She's been stabilized! Miss Aya's been stabilized, Tsunade-Sama was able to bring her back, right now she's in stable condition. Tsunade-Sama will be in shortly to speak with you in depth about the situation." Just as she turned to leave the woman paused taking notice of Asuma's bleeding hand. Taking his hand in hers she healed it with her chakra watching as the skin knitted itself back together. "That's better hmm?"

"Thanks…so right now she's fine?" he asked hopefully.

"No, that's too loose of a word and I'd be lying to you if I said yes. She's stable, there should be no more sudden afflictions. She still is in the coma, but that…coming out of that will be up to her, it's all up to her will to survive. Lady Tsunade will be in shortly." She said leaving the room.

"Are you going to hit anything else?" Shikamaru asked the black haired teen.

"No, but can you open the window please?" Shikamaru nodded releasing the jutsu and after watching his god son sit back down he walked over to the nearby window opening it before sitting back down next to the teen placing his hand on his shoulder.

"She'll get out of this Asuma, Aya's too stubborn to give in to something like this, she will wake up."

O0o0o0

Aya could hear voices….people were talking…it felt like a million years had passed but she finally understood them. It was then she realized that she was no longer in the bright white room, but a much darker one, she could tell because it felt cooler here.

"I'm so sorry, I wish it was me and not you, I should have been there to watch your back…I should have been there for you like I said I would be."

"Please don't die Nee-Chan, I love you…"

"I never should have let you join ANBU, I should have known better…"

"Please wake up Aya, I love you so, so, much my baby…"

"You're stronger than this wake up so your mother can stop crying…"

"I shouldn't have encouraged you so much I'm sorry please, wakeup…"

"It's troublesome how you ended up like this…wake up, that's an order from your sensei…"

All these voices were talking….to _her_….they were calling to her pulling her closer and closer to them…she could recognize them…Minato-Niisan, Kazuki-NeeChan, her father Naruto, her mother Hinata, Anko-sensei, Aunt Hanabi, Shikamaru-sensei….They were her family…her teachers…they…her mother had called her Aya….that was her name, slowly she felt memories shifting in her head and could soon enough place mental images of these people's faces to match their voices…but it felt like someone important was missing though…who was it?

"Aya…" There…that one voice…it made her heart feel funny…a good kind of funny…"Aya, I'm back again…Please wake up. We need you here with us…the doctors say that you could go either way, and that there's been no improvement the last few days and that terrifies me more than you could ever know. You're my best friend, I love you, and I know you know that, but do you know how much? I love you…not in the same way friends, or teammates love each other. I love you to the point where I wouldn't be able to live another day if you weren't here with me."

Who was that? The name was on the tip of her tongue…She could feel her heart swell with happiness and her eyes burned with unshed tears at the sound of his voice. She could see dark unruly black hair, and a devilish grin…ringed red eyes so expressive one could look at his very soul through them. This person meant a lot to her, Aya loved this person in a way different from how she loved the others, this love was stronger, electrifying, like living and dying all rolled into one. Every word he spoke, Aya could feel a jolt in her heart. She clung to his words like they were her lifeline.

"I love you and I will refuse to let you go…I'll wait forever for you, and I'll never love another…I'll die before I lose you…Please come home…your family needs you, your friends need you…I need you, so please wake up…come back to us…come back to _me._" She wanted to respond…it was killing her…she wanted to say something to him, to let him know she loved him too, that she wanted to be with them…to be with _him. _Once again her world went silent, she had been drifting for what felt like days before she once again heard his voice.

"Aya…I'm back again…the doctors said that there's nothing left we can do…they're telling us to give up on you…they're saying you'll never wake up, but they don't know you like I do…please wake up Aya…I know you can do it, please!" She could hear the desperation in his voice as he spoke, and soon, too soon she could hear the other voices…but for some reason they didn't call to her as his voice did…every time he spoke it drew her closer and closer. What was his name! ? What was it? The name, the name, the name? She had been concentrating so hard on figuring out his name that she hadn't noticed when he left, it made her heart hurt. Once again she drifted in darkness surfacing at the sound of his voice.

"Aya…it's…it's…time to say…good bye…that's what the doctors said." She could hear his voice choking up, breaking. "I don't want to say good bye…ever…I love you…I love you, and I will love you forever and ever and I don't want you to ever forget that no matter where you go when they…when they pull the plug…God I hate the sound of that, it makes it sound as if you were just something that they can end at any time…I can't be here if they do that Aya, I can't…I can't watch you die, not again, not after I carried you all the way here. It should have been me in your place because of that mission…I'm sorry I should have gone with you in that tunnel…Aya please forgive me…I love you…"

"Asuma it's time…" Shikamaru said softly to his Godson.

"No, please no." he said holding her hand tightly.

"Give him a few more minutes." Naruto said to the doctor who was about to make him move. There had been no improvement, none at all in the last week and a half and the doctors were convinced there would never be any, they were also concerned that she would be suffering. Naruto stepped forward placing a hand on the teen's shoulder holding his heartache back by the slimmest of margins, he was losing his daughter, one of his babies, but he needed to be strong for his family, for his village, it was killing him.

"Take your time Asuma."

'Asuma…that's his name, it's Asuma!' Suddenly flashes of memories assaulted her mind:

The two playing as kids

"_Asuma wait up!" a small blonde called out chasing after the black haired boy she'd known forever as they both laughed happily_.

Sparring in the academy.

"_Come on Aya if you keep hitting like a sissy you'll never catch up to me!" Asuma said during her lunch as they practiced together. Immediately her strikes and accuracy increased as he hurriedly blocked the attacks of the girl he just thoroughly pissed off._

Aya's Genin graduation.

"_I knew you could do it Aya! All that hard work paid off, I knew if you worked hard enough you could graduate a year ahead with Minato!" Aya beamed happily at the boy who'd just passed the chunin exams._

Asuma grinning happily after beating the hell out of Norio Inuzuka.

"_You don't have to worry about dog breath any more Aya." Asuma said placing a protective hand on the girl's head as he gently wiped the tears from her eyes. _

"_W-why not?" she asked._

"_Because I just beat the hell outta him." He said with a devilish grin making the girl smile and laugh for the first time since leaving for her mission._

Chunin exams.

"_But what if I don't pass?" _

"_Aya you can keep up with me, you'll definitely pass." Asuma said giving the blonde a hug before her match in the finals. The battle lasted for all of five minutes and the boy from Kumo got his butt handed to him. That day she was promoted to chunin._

Asuma's Jonin exam.

"_Wow! Asuma that battle was intense!" Aya said in awe as the boy returned to his place. _

"_Yeah he was tough, I almost didn't win." _

"_Yeah right, but no one noticed that but you, we all saw you kick his butt, you're awesome." Aya said beaming at him making the boy smile softly._

Various missions.

"_Damn it why are we always getting all these pansy D rank missions Shikamaru sensei?" Asuma asked Aya nodding right along with him. _

"_Because Aya's father is over protective, that's why." Their sensei said simply as they continued to weed the old woman's garden. Aya blinked in shock and immediately left heading to the Hokage's tower, the next day they had a C rank mission outside the village._

Working on his mother's garden after accidentally trampling it.

"_Holy CRAP! Mom's gonna kill me!" Asuma shouted trying to fix the damage to the garden after Aya fell from the tree during tree climbing practice. Together they worked on the garden until the damage was hardly noticeable…His mom still noticed._

Broken bones.

_She was crying her heart out and her arm hurt like hell as Asuma ran wheezing and carrying her to the hospital. Tree climbing was a disaster waiting to happen for the blonde apparently, for when she lost the flow of chakra to her feet instead of pushing off the tree and landing in a crouch like Asuma had taught her, the blonde panicked and caught her arm on a branch, immediately they both heard the sickening crack of the bone as Aya screamed. Asuma ran up the tree catching her as she fell but also in the process lost his own balance as they both hit the ground, Asuma breaking the already injured blonde's fall. She ended up with a broken arm and he ended up with three fractured ribs. _

Jokes.

"_Hey Aya wanna hear a joke?" Asuma asked smirking. _

"_Sure, let's hear it." _

"_A blonde walks into a bar and says 'ow'." Aya glared at him in annoyance. _

"_If my arm wasn't in a cast I'd slap you." She bit out through clenched teeth, it had to be the twentieth blonde joke today…_

"_Why do you think I'm telling all of the blonde jokes now?" He laughed until Aya kicked him. Apparently he'd forgotten she still had legs that worked._

Pranks.

_Aya watched through the window as Asuma "cleaned his room" that meant shoving everything known to man under his bed and in his closet. She watched with satisfaction as the closet door opened and immediately he was splattered in the face with a paint filled water balloon. That was payback for putting blue dye in her shampoo the other day, her hair was still bluish green._

Their first kiss at his thirteenth birthday party….

_She'd been having so much fun as the group of Asuma's friends and family all played games outside, the adults had gone inside to socialize and Aya sat on the grass smiling peacefully. Asuma sat down next to her handing her a piece of chocolate cake knowing it was her favorite. Aya smiled at him as they ate their cake silently together, it was starting to get dark when suddenly she looked up and noticed fireflies near them. _

"_Asuma! Asuma look!" she said pointing to the flashing bugs. Placing her empty plate on the ground the blonde scrambled to her feet to go catch one. Asuma watched as she ran around for a few moments before running over to him happily. "I got one!" she said with a giggle. He could see it flashing in her hands. "Maybe if we make a wish and let it go it'll come true cause it's your birthday!" _

"_Ok, but you make a wish too just in case." Aya nodded and closed her eyes making her wish. _

'_I wish…I wish we could be friends forever, like my mom and dad…' Aya opened her eyes the same time Asuma did, their faces inches apart both looking down at the girl's flashing hands. She opened her hands slowly and they watched as the firefly began to fly around them blinking and illuminating their faces. As they watched the flashing bug their eyes connected and both realized just how close they were. Asuma leaned towards her just a little bit, and Aya followed suit both closing their eyes as tentatively their lips brushed together in the smallest of kisses. Immediately they both jumped back with pink tinges on their faces._

Broken hearts.

"_I can't believe Amiko actually called me by another name." Asuma said sounding completely heart-broken. Aya looked at him sadly. _

"_Well she never deserved you Asuma! You're an awesome great person and if she couldn't see that then it's her loss." Aya said irritably watching as the saddened boy before her simply sighed looking absolutely devastated and miserable as her heart clenched in sadness. Soon sadness turned to anger at the brunette teen of Asuma's affections. Placing her hand on his shoulder she walked from his room and left the house seeking out a certain brunette who was in for it. _

_Aya found her in one of the shops with several of her friends and walking over she grabbed the girl's arm in a tight grip and left the shop._

"_What the hell is wrong with you! Do you know what you did to him? !" Amiko rolled her eyes leaning against the brick wall between the two buildings knowing exactly who the blonde was talking about._

"_Listen, he was just a distraction until the guy I wanted was available." Oh the blonde wanted to kill her. Lavender eyes bore into dark blue._

"_You're more than lucky you aren't a shinobi because if you were…" the blonde said leaning close to the brunette anger rolling off her in waves. "…I'd leave you in a bloody mess right here for your friends to clean up."_

"_You don't scare me Aya." Quickly the blonde swung her fist stopping mere centimeters from the girl's face smirking as the brunette let out a loud yelp._

"_Why, what's wrong Amiko? I thought you weren't afraid of me?" the blonde asked with a smile as the teen stared at her wide eyed._

"_You're freekin crazy! What the hell do you want me to do?"_

"_I don't care what you do, if Asuma wants you back…" The very thought made her heart clench painfully. "If he wants you back and you hurt him again, you better pray to any celestial being you can think of or make up, that I don't find you, because if I do…" the blonde said angrily leaving the threat hanging for the brunette who had paled significantly to absorb._

"_Y-you can't do anything to me! You're a shinobi, you aren't allowed to-_

"_Then I'll __**quit **__just to beat you to into oblivion, understood?"_

"_Yes!" she squeaked._

"_Get the hell outta here." The brunette was quick to comply as she hurried away leaving the blonde fuming in the alley. Walking to the end she leaned against the wall and slid town it burying her face in her knees as she cried. Did she not see how lucky she was? Did she not see how blessed she was to have him? The fact that she threw it away so readily without regard to his feelings angered her to no end, however…the fact that Amiko had what Aya wanted so badly killed the blonde inside, she had Asuma, she had his heart, and he wanted __**her**__. After what she had put him through he still wanted to be with Amiko and Aya knew it. _

'_Asuma…Why? Why don't you see me?'_

_That was the day Aya realized that she didn't just have a crush on her best friend, she was in love with him._

Their date

_Aya was incredibly nervous as she walked up to the meeting place, and when she saw him, she blushed. He was dressed handsomely and the way he was leaning against the railing of the bridge he looked to be the epitome of cool. When he turned and noticed her, Aya's heart leapt and immediately began racing as he smiled at her. _

Their first night together.

_She'd never known it was possible to feel things like this, she was scared to death and he was so gentle with her. With tangled limbs and heated caresses, Aya allowed her mind to wander briefly, her eyes drifting shut as his lips brushed against her neck. Even though Asuma was the one person she'd chosen out of all the guys she knew, Aya was glad that he had agreed, she'd only asked him, and didn't want this moment to be shared with anyone else, just him…only him, because even if he didn't know it, he held her heart. She trusted him with her life and she always would, and now as he kissed away her fear and doubts, she entrusted him with her body which he treated like a prized treasure from the very first touch. He had kissed her past her pain as their bodies had become one for the very first time, and their souls had entwined. Aya knew right then and there as he made love to her that night…that she'd fallen in love with him all over again. He'd proven to her just like he always would, why he would __**always**__ be the one person she'd trust completely._

Aya for the first time could feel something warm holding her hand tight, her body was sore all of a sudden, very sore and she felt exhausted, as if her entire body was made of lead. Then she felt a brush against her hand, then felt the same sensation against her lips.

"I love you." He said softly resting his forehead against hers hoping that by some miracle she would hear his words, that she would know just how much she meant to him. "I love you." Asuma whispered kissing her one last time. Immediately she felt it, the same electrifying sensational spark in her heart that quickly began coursing through her body. The feeling made her blink her eyes, which felt so heavy but they opened slowly, instead of being in the empty dark space she had seen the last time, she now was looking not into a sea of faces, but into a particular pair of blood red ringed watery eyes that made her heart race.

"A-Asuma…" Aya said hoarsely blinking away the burning liquid in her eyes.

"Aya!" His arms wrapped around her shoulders as he pulled her into a bone crushing hug. "I'm sorry, that mission was all my fault, it should have been me here not you and-

"Asuma… …shut…up." Aya said weakly as she lifted her arm and wrapped it around the boy to the best of her ability. She nuzzled her head in his neck kissing him as she did so. "I…love you too." She said just loud enough for them all to hear. The pair was immediately surrounded by astonished medical staff and joyful family and friends. Asuma was knocked away by a flash of red as Aya's family enveloped her. Never had he felt happier than in this moment, and as he brushed the wetness from his eyes a hand came down on his shoulder, he turned to see his grinning sensei and immediately hugged him.

"It was all because of you I bet Asuma…I'm proud of you and your father would be proud of you as well." Shikamaru said resting his hand on his Godson's head as the boy cried silent tears of pure relief, she was going to be ok.

O0o0o0o0

"She's recovering quite well." Sakura said flipping through the chart on her clipboard. "I'm surprised she pulled through the way she did, she pulled a complete 180. Your daughter's quite a fighter you two." Hinata smiled as Naruto nodded happily.

"I'm proud of her, Aya's just like her father." Hinata said softly holding her husband's hand tightly.

"When can we take her home Sakura-Chan?" Naruto asked glancing over at his sleeping daughter.

"Well Naruto, we'll be keeping her for the next few days, as you know she was in a coma for a little over a week from the stress of the blood loss and such strenuous damage to her body's internal organs, plus the reaction she had to the anesthesia, so we want to make sure that she won't slip back into it, there's always that danger. However her results look promising I'd say she'll be back home by Friday."

"Thank you Sakura."

"Yeah thanks Sakura-Chan."

"No problem you two, I have to make my rounds now though. See you later." The pink haired doctor said leaving the pair alone. After Sakura left, Naruto made his way back to the Hokage's tower to catch up on his missed work, and Hinata stayed behind to sit with her daughter.

"Hey mom." Aya said softly next to her mother with a quiet yawn.

"Hi love, how are you feeling?" Hinata asked pouring a glass of water and handing it to her daughter.

"Tired…and hungry. When was the last time I ate?" the blonde asked sipping the water slowly feeling as the cooling liquid made its way down her dry scratchy throat and settled into her very hungry stomach.

"You've been on a nutrition drip since you arrived, and you slept and have been delirious for the last three days so you haven't had solid food in quite a while and when we offered it you pushed it away even if it was from Asuma. Maybe you should start with something easy on your belly. Would you like soup?"

"Yes please mom." Hinata stood and gave her daughter a kiss before walking from the room. Aya pushed herself up into a sitting position and winced in pain as she held her stomach. Feeling an unusual stiffness she lifted the hem of her hospital gown to reveal a large bandage around her abdomen.

"Oh you're awake, Uzumaki-sama!" Aya dropped the gown and pulled the blanket to cover herself quickly making the nurse laugh. "I'm here to change your bandage, no need to be nervous." The woman said as she walked over. "If you could sit up straight and lift your arms slightly that would be a great help, but if you're unable that's fine."

"No, I can do it." The blonde said lifting her arms as the nurse began removing the bandage from around her midsection. Finally after a few minutes of unwrapping the bandage a six inch stitched up gash was revealed making Aya gasp in shock. "Oh my- what, what happened to me! ?"

"Stop moving so much or you'll rip out your stitches!" the nurse said sternly, Aya froze immediately and the woman gave her a smile. "There now, just relax. It says here on your chart that you arrived a bit more than a week ago after a mission you and your group were on went wrong. The mission was a success however there was a casualty in your group and you were severely wounded. You were brought here in critical condition with life threatening injuries. You flat lined three times during surgery due to an allergic reaction you had to the anesthesia. It also says you've been in a comatose state for the past week or so ever since your surgery, you're quite lucky to be alive." She said redressing Aya's wound and applying antibiotic ointment as she wound the wrap around the girl once again.

"Do…do you know who brought me here?" Aya asked remembering nothing from her initial wake up or her delirious states. She did remember how she got her wound, flinching at the memory of the Kunai repeatedly piercing her flesh.

"Yes, we do actually it was your team leader. It says here you're in ANBU so I can't give you his name, however you should know him as Wolf. Now while I'm here would there be anything you'd need?"

"No, I'm fine thank you."

"Good, now how would your pain be on a scale of 1 through 10?"

"About a six right now, it's manageable though."

"Ok, I'll give you a pain reliever in your IV that will help. I'll be right back with the medicine." The woman said as she walked from the room. Right after she left, Hinata returned with chicken soup and some rice. She pulled over a tray and rested it in front of her child placing the soup on top and removing the lid.

"Here you go love." Hinata said with a smile as she handed her daughter a spoon to eat with before she drank the soup right from the bowl. Aya took the spoon and reluctantly placed the bowl back on the tray before scooping the soup into her mouth. It tasted awesome and she was happy…no more needed to be said other than that. After her meal Aya was given her medicine and once again fell asleep.

**See I'm not all bad, Aya's gonna be ok….for now… =) bwahahahah. Ahem… yeah. So as usual questions comments and the like you can leave in a review or PM me and I will get back to you ok?**

**Next chapter will be up soon! **


	15. All I know has fallen

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 14

All I know has fallen

Naminé sat in her room, her ex-messenger bird sitting contently on her shoulder nuzzling her cheek and ruffling his feathers as she gently stroked his neck.

"Mystery, I bet you aren't afraid of anything…I wish I could be brave like you. You go anywhere and do what you want without fearing anything…I love you my bird." She said softly as the bird cooed softly in her ear. She had recovered physically, and even was able to be away from her parents for hours on end but something felt different to her, it was as if she'd changed in those weeks. She seemed different to herself. Naminé didn't know how to explain it. She stood and walked back to Mystery's cage offering her hand to the bird who stepped on. Naminé smiled as Mystery tilted his head to look into the girl's brown eyes with his own. She had always loved his feathers, they were completely different from the rest of his flock, there were flecks of gold and red and green mixed in with the beige and black, the brightest of the colors were tucked away on the insides of his wings.

"Will you let me see?" Naminé asked brushing a finger gently along the bird's wing. She smiled as he lifted his wings up for her to see revealing the golden yellow, the red and the green feathers. "Thank you baby." She said giving the bird's beak a kiss as once again he fluffed up happily. Suddenly Mystery's feathers slicked down and he screeched at the door but not leaving his master's hand.

"I'll never understand why you love him so much." The familiar voice said from the door way. Naminé released the breath she didn't know she was holding and smiled as her father entered the room. She opened the cage and her bird reluctantly stepped onto the post, being sure he was out of the way she shut and locked the door tightly.

"I love him because he loves me. I've had him since he was a baby, he's like…he's more than a pet dad. I'd be devastated if anything ever happened to him." Naminé said watching as Gaara neared the cage to look at the bird. He pulled back quickly as the bird attacked the cage trying to get at the red headed male.

"He doesn't seem to like me."

"Birds of his species attach to one particular person, and he attached to me I guess…Was there something you needed?" Naminé asked. Usually her father didn't come up to her room preferring to give the girl her privacy.

"Yes, your aunt Temari is due to have her baby any day and wanted to know if you would be there."

"Oh, I'd love to! When are we leaving?"

"I will be unable to make it and your aunt knows this. You will be going with your mother and uncle in three days-time."

"Uncle Kanky's back from his mission? I thought he'd be gone until next month?"

"He finished early and arrived home today, he's in his workshop if you'd like to go see him." Naminé smiled and after giving her dad a hug hurried from the room, she hadn't seen her uncle since before her last visit home from her ambassadorial duties. Gaara smiled as his daughter hurried by but sent a glare at the bird in the cage which continued to hiss angrily at him.

"You're only alive because my daughter for some unfathomable reason loves you, remember that."

The bird continued to hiss as he closed Naminé's door behind him on his way back to the Kazekage's tower.

O0o0o0o0o0

Naminé had hurried to the basement and smiled as she noticed a light beaming from under the door and heard several curse words being uttered. She knocked on the door and entered running over to her uncle and jumping on his back as she hugged him from behind almost knocking him from his stool.

"Aren't you getting a bit old for this Naminé?" Kankuro asked with a laugh.

"Nope!" hearing this, her uncle smiled.

"That's the right answer…" he said with his easygoing grin. "How ya been kiddo? Did you have fun subbing in for Tema?" Naminé had yet to release her uncle and tensed at his words which he noticed immediately. "Naminé what happened?" he asked seriously turning in his chair to face his niece once she released him. She shook her head and took a step back.

"I don't wanna talk about it." She said softly staring at the ground. Kankuro was shocked, usually the pair would tell every detail of their missions to the other, never had his niece reacted like this, not even when he got it out of her who she liked. (A certain blue haired Uzumaki.) Kankuro nodded.

"Ok, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I'm always here if you ever want someone to listen."

"I know Uncle Kanky…how did your mission go?" Kankuro pulled up a chair and Naminé sat down as they talked about his mission and the new poisons he had come up with while out on his mission. After Naminé left and Kankuro finished up his work he made his way to the Kazekage's tower, and after knocking on the door let himself into his brother's office. Gaara looked up from his work and noticed the way his brother looked and could tell something was bothering him. Before he could ask what was up his big brother spoke.

"What happened to Naminé? She seems different and when I asked her about her mission she got really tense and refused to talk about it, she's never like that." Kankuro said worriedly. "Did she get into a fight with Minato or something?" Gaara sighed as he put his papers aside, he should have figured that this would happen, of all people to notice a change in the desert princess it would be her extremely overprotective uncle.

"I wish it _was_ that Kankuro, but it's not."

"Well what happened?"

"Naminé was due to return from her ambassador's duties, however instead of returning home or staying with her grandparents she chose to go on a mission with Minato and his team. That mission was a trap. The enemies were supposed to grab a Konoha shinobi and gain information about the Hokage in a plot to cripple the leaf village and its dependents."

"They didn't take Minato did they? That would explain why Naminé- Gaara held up his hand so he could speak.

"That's not it, Minato was taken but-"

"But what?" Kankuro asked feeling an immense sense of dread forming in his gut.

"Naminé was as well."

"WHAT! ? What happened to my niece? Tell me she used that necklace of hers and got out of there!" The puppet ninja asked worriedly.

"She didn't, I asked her why time and time again and she said it was because she didn't want me to get hurt…She was tortured for eleven days straight to gain information on Suna and she didn't talk once." Gaara said softly.

"TORTURED FOR ALMOST TWO WEEKS! ? Why the hell did nobody tell me about this! ?" Kankuro yelled running a hand through his hair.

"You were undercover on your mission Kankuro. We would have blown your mission had we sent a messenger, it was too important you've been tracking that guy for months." Kankuro couldn't deny the logic in that but was frustrated that he hadn't been told at all. That wasn't what bothered him the most though.

"Gaara, if she didn't use the necklace to escape how did she get back?" Gaara's hands tightened into fists however he spoke calmly, though there was an angry edge to his voice.

"When I arrived, there were four men they were trying to….they were about to…" he slammed his fist onto his desk cracking the wood and rubbing his temples with his other hand. "It's been going through my head again and again and again, if I had arrived minutes later no…moments later I would have been too late to save her from that." Kankuro's eyes widened in shock as he immediately understood.

"I will kill them."

"I already did. When I brought them back she was a mess physically, and she was so scared she had an asthma attack. I've never seen her have one that badly, and to boot I've never seen anyone in worse condition and I've watched some of Ibiki's interrogations." Gaara said darkly.

"Damn it, I knew she wasn't ready to be out on her own yet, she's too young."

"We were on our own at her age."

"You were Kazekage at her age and it was different with us, we had each other." Kankuro said angrily. He wasn't angry with his brother, he was angry because the only reason it was different was because it was _his _niece, and Gaara knew it. "I wish you guys would have told me."

"I wish it had never happened."

"But it did and we have to work through it as a family, we will work through it as a family. Ask Baki to watch the place and come with us to Konoha, you should be there for the birth of your nephew you know." Gaara sat quietly for a moment before responding.

"I'll think about it." Kankuro nodded.

"How's Naminé been since then?"

"Very subdued, very quiet, I haven't sent her on any missions and I won't until she asks for one. I do not want to force her into this kind of life." Again Kankuro could understand. "Could you check on her every now and then?"

"You don't have to even ask." The puppet ninja said as he walked back from the room. Kankuro decided to take a walk around the village, there was no better way to celebrate your return from a several month long mission other than walk your home village. Everything was in its place, people were milling around and the local children were running about as usual. His walk led him to a nearby park where he noticed his niece having a heated argument with a sandy haired male her age which was odd, Naminé was much like her mother in the aspect of preferring to avoid fights and arguments. Kankuro immediately recognized him as one of her teammates and her former boyfriend…Ryuta Shinra if he recalled correctly. Kankuro glared at the sight, he really didn't like the Ryuta clan they were all stuck up, especially the boy's grandfather on the council Ryuta Jin, the same man who refused to allow Suna shinobi to go in search of their Kazekage when Gaara was abducted by the Akatsuki those twenty one years ago.

O0o0o0

"So you're wussing out on another mission huh?" Shinra asked in a snarky tone crossing his arms. This caught Naminé off guard especially how angrily he had said it as she walked by, they had never really been on good terms since she'd broken up with him but he'd never acted like this preferring to stay aloof and cold towards her.

"Excuse me? I haven't fully recovered yet-

"I'm not buying that shit Naminé, just face it you're scared." The red headed girl stiffened and tried to hide how hurt she was by her teammate's comment.

"I'm not scared of anything Shinra, just leave me alone." The red head snapped walking past him, he snatched her wrist in his hand and immediately her heart began to race as fear flashed in her eyes.

"See? You're scared right now, just like you were back _then_. You've been nothing more than a burden to the rest of us." He said in a low voice smirking as he said so.

"You never loved me Shinra, and that was years ago. _Get over it_ and let go of me." Naminé said fighting to keep her voice even and fearless, she had succeeded but he had yet to release her. He ignored the first jab.

"Who's gonna make me? You know I kind of like the new you, you could learn to be more submissive now that you've been kicked off that high pedestal of yours. You know, you've always been a bit too head strong for your own good." He said nastily grabbing her other wrist tightly as she went to hit him and pulling her close, fear jolted through her stomach and Naminé had enough of it, her sand wrapped around the boy in a painful grip and she could care less if she was hurting him, hell it was what she should have done back then, immediately he released his grip on her.

"When I tell you not to touch me you'd better listen, next time I _will_ kill you regardless of the consequence." She growled the sand squeezing him for good measure. Kankuro watched in shock, she looked just like her father had when he was younger at that moment, she even had the same frighteningly cold look in her eyes. Naminé dropped him and walked away hiding the tears in her eyes, the sand wrapped around her and she successfully vanished from the area for the first time.

O0o0o0

The red headed teen appeared at the oasis and was relieved to find herself there alone. She sat down pulling her knees into her chest as she tried to fight off the overwhelming urge to cry as old memories resurfaced, was that really all people saw her as? Was she really just a burden to deal with and a body to use? She'd been with Shinra for almost two years and had been head over heels for the sandy haired teen with his stormy gray eyes. When she thought back on it now she could see that all he wanted from her was her body, but at the time even though she had known Naminé just couldn't accept it until he'd given her an ultimatum that had blown her mind and crushed her heart.

~~~Flashback~~~

_They'd been together for almost two years and Naminé would be turning fifteen in a few months, she loved him, she was sure of it. They held hands and kissed and cuddled and went on dates and watched movies on the couch at one of their places on their days off, so it wasn't unusual that Shinra had been over Naminé's place that evening, the two had been on a date and after had come home to watch a movie. They'd been in the red head's room since the movie had ended. Naminé broke the kiss they were sharing._

"_Shinra do you love me?" instead of answering he simply kissed her again humming his affirmation to her question._

"_You never say it." She said softly pulling away from him once again._

"_I want to show you how I feel but you never let me." Shinra said running his hand along her thigh as Naminé simply closed her eyes looking away from him. The blonde took this as a dismissal of their conversation and pulled the red head closer to him as he kissed along her exposed neck and sucking near her pulse point making her gasp softly. She always melted when he did this, Naminé didn't know how or why but she did. In moments her shirt was gone which the red head didn't mind, they'd gone this far many times before but never more than this. His hand ran along her back while his other kept rubbing up and down her leg stopping just at the edge of her skirt as he leaned forward pushing her back against the mattress and unhooking her bra at the same time. Naminé quickly broke the kiss with a gasp as her hands flew to her chest to keep herself covered._

"_Shinra!"_

"_Come on Naminé its just skin." The dirty blonde said in an annoyed voice taking advantage of her distraction as his hands went up her skirt still feeling along her toned legs. "Besides you've seen me shirtless."_

"_Yeah but it's not the same it's-" she was quickly cut off as once again the blonde kissed her, already he was tired of her protests._

"_I just thought you felt about me the same way I feel about you Naminé." Shinra said pulling back and removing his own shirt. Immediately the red head felt guilty._

"_Shinra, I do love you, you know that I tell you all the time." She said softly feeling her heart wrench._

"_But you never show it, actions speak louder than words and right now I feel like you don't care about me at all." Naminé felt terrible, he thought she didn't love him. Shinra felt his pride surge as he watched the redhead look away in embarrassment as she pushed the straps of her bra down her shoulders before finally pulling her arms free of the garment before discarding it completely, her arms still covering her newly exposed breasts, and her cheeks a shade darker than her hair. _

_He didn't even wait for her to be comfortable enough to remove her arms, instead he pressed himself closer to her, his lips hungrily kissing the red head's as he pushed her arms aside and grasping one of her soft breasts in his hand he began kneading it and quickly brought his mouth to the other licking and sucking on the nipple as Naminé looked away in pure embarrassment. Never had she felt more embarrassed or vulnerable, more than anything she felt as if she'd wanted to cry and bit her lip to keep from doing so. Then to her surprise she felt his fingers rubbing against the crotch her panties and gasping she immediately pushed him away covering herself once again._

"_No Shinra." Naminé said firmly, there were some things she'd let him get away with but this was certainly not one of them and he simply glared at her._

"_You're __**still **__not ready? Seriously Naminé? We've been together for almost two years!"_

"_I'm aware of this but I'm just not ready to go that far and I won't if I'm not." _

"_I've been ready for almost a year now! And I've done nothing but keep waiting for you, I'm tired of waiting Naminé, either we move forward in our relationship or I'm done." Naminé simply stared in shock._

"_Are you saying that unless I sleep with you…you'll leave me?" Never in her life had she ever felt so hurt by anyone's words. _

"_That's exactly what I'm saying." He knew she'd cave, she cared too much about the relationship to let it go like this. However he earned the surprise of his life when Naminé glared at him._

"_Fine, you know where the door is, get out." She snapped angrily climbing off the bed and grabbing her clothes and quickly putting her bra and t shirt back on so she could face him with less embarrassment. _

"_What! ?" he had not expected this from her._

"_You heard me. I'm __**not**__ sleeping with you, it's over. So GET OUT." She growled glaring intently at him, still he'd yet to move. Naminé turned away from him headed to the door opening it to make him leave only to receive a bigger shock when he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to the bed pushing her against the mattress again and quickly pinning her body with his. Naminé stared at him in shock as his lips were once again pressed against hers, only this time much more forcefully, quickly she shook her head to dislodge him._

"_SHINRA GET OF OFF ME!" the red head yelled angrily not fully understanding his motives, what was he trying to do? She knew in her heart what was going on but didn't want to believe it, it truly sunk in when his hand made its way up her skirt once again. Intent on calling her father quickly her hand wrapped around her Love charm necklace only for it to be snatched from her grasp as the blonde flung it across the room after ripping it from her neck. Naminé looked up at him in shock stunned by this action__, looking around she caught sight of the clock, she had at least three more hours before either one of her parents got home, that made her stomach fill with dread. Naminé continued to glare at him and pulling her arms annoyed that he wouldn't release her from his grasp, finally when he did Naminé found she couldn't move them from where she'd been pinned and could vaguely feel the slight pulsating heat of the chakra strings which bound her wrists to keep her from striking him. "You jerk! LET ME GO!" Naminé yelled angrily kicking at him._

"_I already told you, I've waited for you for a year and I'm sick of waiting. One way or another I'm getting what I want from you __**tonight**__." Naminé tried calming her anger trying to think rationally maybe she could talk her way out of this. He wasn't making it easy for her. "You know you should be more submissive, with the position I'm in I can do whatever I want to you." Naminé glared at him and let out an audible growl making the blonde smirk. "What are you a dog now?"_

"_If you don't get off of me I swear to all that's holy Shinra-_

"_You'll what? Threaten me? You can't do anything now." Naminé let out an agitated breath._

"_You think my Dad's gonna be happy when he hears about this? He'll kill you without a second thought, I mean seriously, do you forget who my family is you damn fool? My Father is the Kazekage, my Mother is the lead medic at the hospital who specializes in poisons, my Uncle is the famed Kabuki ninja known for torturing his enemies to death and works in the torture and interrogation unit and my Aunt the famed wind mistress is known for showing no mercy to those who get on her bad side. Are you sure you really want to piss all these people off?" she asked keeping her voice steady._

"_That would be foolish but who's to say it wasn't consensual? Who's to say that you're not just trying to blemish my family name? Do you forget who I'm related to Naminé? My family on both sides has worked on the council for generations, we hold just as much power and clout in the land of wind as you Sabakus do. You have strength and power at your disposal sure, but we have intelligence and intellect. Do you really think I go through something without a backup plan available for me? I'm not stupid, just impulsive so sure your family could kill me but then again my family holds sway over the council, we're the ones who keep your father as Kazekage, hell if we wanted to we could have him thrown away for all the indiscretions of his youth. Trust me Naminé, although you've been kept blind to his past no one else has or has forgotten it. Who'll believe the child of a famed killer over the words of a noble family whose duty has and always will be the safety of this village? Only a fool would." He spat making Naminé's anger continue to grow as once again he began kissing her neck, his lips burning against her skin and his grip on her waist tight._

"_You don't know anything about my father Shinra." The redhead snapped._

"_I know he killed over 300 civilians in thirteen years of his lifetime, that's more than several trained Shinobi careers combined." He said simply continuing his investigation of her body as though there had never been an interruption. Naminé wiggled squirmed and moved every way she could to avoid his touch, it absolutely sickened her now. Finally she unpinned her leg, dug her heel into the mattress and pushing back Naminé head butted her now ex-boyfriend. The blonde yelped at the unexpected pain as he reared back holding his head in his hands as the red head hissed wincing in pain quickly deciding that no one won when a head butt was involved. _

_Naminé quickly recovered having expected the blow and kicked the blonde off the bed watching as he hit the ground with a loud thump and grinning in satisfaction the red head looked down at him angrily. Did he really think she wouldn't fight back? That thought alone annoyed the living hell out of her. The look that he gave her when he stood however was enough to send a wave of fear through her body, it promised pain and lots of it. She'd seen that look from him before, but never was it directed at her, until now. Dread and panic flooded her body as he approached, his aura darkened and Naminé was completely aware of his intentions._

"_No, please don't-DON'T!"_

_Naminé made to kick him as he approached but Shinra grabbed her ankle pulling her down the mattress until she was stretched as far as she could be, then he yanked her harder just to hear the gasp of pain escape her lips as her arms strained against the chakra bindings trapping her to the headboard._

"_You know with you being my girlfriend and all I was going to go easy on you but you so blew that." The blonde growled. Turning on her radio and turning the volume to deafening levels of thundering drums and blaring guitars, he pinned her legs down and climbed on the red head once again._

"_Shinra! OUCH!" Naminé gasped as he once again took hold of her breasts through the material of her clothes making her wince in pain. He pushed up her shirt before finally deciding to just rip it from her body, he wanted to see the red headed beauty in all her splendor when she became his._

"_PLEASE STOP IT! NO! SHINRA DON'T!" Naminé screamed in a panic as he grabbed her skirt and pulled it down her legs leaving her in her bra and panties; she could barely hear her own panicked screams over the loud music. __He growled at her efforts of escape, and his grip on her waist tightened incredibly making the red head wince as she let out a sob and trembled beneath him. Once again he lowered his head to kiss her but Naminé turned away from him._

"_STOP IT!" He didn't even bother to respond to her protests but simply took his time exploring the body he'd been denied for so long while Naminé screamed her lungs out. Finally out of frustration Shinra clamped his hand over the red head's mouth silencing her, and keeping her head firmly in place, pinning her with an angry gaze._

"_Shut. Up." He growled making Naminé whimper before glaring angrily at him and defiantly yelling against his hand when finally her mouth was released. Naminé flinched in shock as she watched Shinra's hand rear back to hit her. She could feel the tears burning in her eyes, she was past being upset she was absolutely enraged. More than any other emotion she was angry. Naminé was angry that she had liked him so much, angry she let it go this far, angry at this enormous betrayal, and mostly angry at herself for being so helpless because she lacked proper control over her sand. The only reason she hadn't used it was because there was a very high chance that she'd end up killing him unintentionally. Closing her eyes tightly Naminé anticipated the force of the blow waiting for the strike aimed at her face. Luckily for her it seemed Naminé wouldn't have to worry about her sand killing the blonde or being struck by the blonde she had once adored, for moments after this thought entered her head and the teen was poised to strike, two figures entered her room through the open door, the first quickly ripping the blonde off the red head and released her from her chakra string binds and the other pulling the desert princess up and checking her for any kind of injury quickly shutting off the radio and holding her close._

"_Kankuro get him out of here." Nia said angrily watching as Kankuro easily obliged already having the male bound with crow as she held her daughter tightly. They watched as the two men left the room and immediately the brunette looked to her child wiping away the tears that streamed from her daughter's eyes as the girl tried controlling her tears and panicked breathing. "Baby what happened? I finished work early and came home, your uncle was my last patient for the day so that's why were both here. When we came in we heard a loud thump, we heard you screaming and then the music, what did he do to you? Tell me what he did." Naminé sighed and rested her head on her mother's shoulder feeling enormous relief as her body trembled from the overflow of adrenaline and fear. _

"_He did everything and nothing Mom…Nothing that will cause me lasting physical damage…"she sighed "He just broke my heart, but I'll be fine." Nia looked at her daughter confused and Naminé elaborated. "He wanted to have sex, but I wasn't ready. So he told me that if we weren't going to have sex than he was leaving me. So I told him to hit the dirt because I wasn't ready…I know why I wasn't ready too, I mean physically I guess I was but not mentally. I would never go that far with him because he never really loved me and I knew that deep down...because he never said it. So he wasn't too happy with my answer and this was the result…I just want to go to bed Mom." Naminé said in a monotonous voice standing and walking to her dresser and grabbing a pair of pajama pants and a large t shirt, pants felt like a safe option as she pulled them on tying the drawstring tightly before putting her shirt on._

"_Would you like me to stay with you?" Nia asked softly as she watched her daughter rub her wrists where they were bound feeling remorse and anger that this had happened to her child._

"_Please, I just want to be alone right now."_

"_Ok." Nia was reluctant but left her daughter's room. The moment the door had shut and Naminé heard the footsteps fade down the hall she quickly made her way to the top drawer of her dresser pulling it open and rummaging through the clothes until she found her inhaler, quickly taking several puffs and feeling the pressure in her lungs lessen as she took a shaky breath of air._

_~~~End Flashback~~~_

Naminé growled remembering that day, no she refused to be somebody's burden, she refused to be somebody's plaything. She'd become someone strong just like her parents, but for now if doing a mission or two would get her old teammates off her back then she'd do it, she'd do the hell out of that mission and rub it in their damn faces. Standing she made her way from the oasis, she was getting a mission from her father.

O0o0o0o0o0o0

Gaara sat in his office when the door opened after a quick knock.

"I want to do a mission." Naminé said standing in front of his desk.

"Hello to you too…"

"Dad I'm serious."

"As am I, I raised a young lady did I not?" Naminé held back an annoyed sigh.

"Good afternoon Dad, may I be given a mission please?"

"Sure." The Kazekage said flipping through the mission's roster looking for something that would be accomplishable before she left to Konoha. "Here's one." Gaara said handing her the C level mission which she quickly scanned through. "Would that be suitable for you?"

"This is fine Dad, thanks." The teen said walking from the room. This would be easy, just figure out who the thief was at the bakery, apparently every time the owner went to deliver the day's money to the bank she was robbed. Not a tough mission, she had a similar one for her very first mission. After she had left Kankuro arrived.

"Did Naminé just ask for a mission?"

"Yes, she did but something seemed different, as if she were trying to prove something."

"She is, to one of her teammates. She got into a fight with him in the park and after threatening to kill him she ran off. He really did deserve it though." Gaara glared at the desk, he'd seen this coming and knew eventually she'd be pressured into a mission by someone too soon.

"Kankuro…could you take over for a bit please?"

"I'm on it." The puppet ninja said watching Gaara walk from the room.

O0o0o0o0o0

The day went by slowly, and to blow some time, Naminé offered to work at the bakery free of charge as they were low on staff as it was. The hours blew by quickly and the owner was extremely grateful for the extra help. Eventually closing time came and went and all the employees went home.

"Now's the time I usually go to the bank, I wear this cloak and head right down the street towards Suna national." Naminé nodded.

"Alright Yuma-san I'll go in your place tonight and catch the guy, you'll never have to worry about this happening again."

"Thank you Naminé-Chan, be safe." The red head waved and walked from the bakery with the day's money. Gaara watched from the roof tops, his eyes following the cloaked figure that was his daughter, he could recognize her chakra signature anywhere, and keeping his own chakra suppressed he followed the teen.

Naminé made it more than half way before she had been pulled into the alleyway just as the owner said she would be. Immediately she began trembling as her mind flashed back to that final day of being captured. There were several things that set her off, having her hair pulled, being grabbed by her wrists and being pinned against something, this guy had done all three in the time it took to get her into the alley. She wanted to be sick, she was terrified and her mind was cloudy and the only thing that made sense was to get rid of the threat and with her sand she did just that.

Her sand wrapped around the man and crushed him killing him instantly, now she was sick as her stomach lurched making her lose her lunch. She gagged and retched until nothing was left to throw up. It was not that she killed someone that made her throw up, she had done plenty of that already, it was the fear she experienced from that person…nobody could find out about this. Using her sand to drag down the body's remains, Naminé made the area look as normal as everywhere else, and seconds after she had accomplished that her father jumped into the alleyway.

"Naminé are you alright?" she flinched at his sudden arrival and immediately looked away from him.

"I'm fine but he got away, I still have the money though…you should go see if you can catch him." Naminé lied hurrying away from her father and the alley and heading to the bank. Sea foam orbs watched the teens retreating back until she was out of sight.

"**You can smell it can't you? Don't tell me your old age is catching up to you." **Gaara ignored Shukaku's jab, of course he could smell it, his entire childhood he'd practically breathed in the coppery scent on a daily basis, and this area reeked of freshly spilt blood. He shifted the sand around him until a mangled corpse was revealed. Gaara sighed crushing it into oblivion before having the sand drag it to the very depths his ability would allow before once again covering up the area. He and his daughter were going to have a very long talk tonight.

O0o0o0

After depositing the money and returning the receipt to the owner, the red head hurried home. Her mother was plating their dinner when she arrived.

"Naminé are you hungry? Dinner's ready." Nia said with a smile as her daughter hurried past.

"No thanks mom."

"But it's your favorite." The brunette insisted her face falling.

"I'm just not hungry." Nia watched as her daughter hurried up the stairs, there was a look on her face that she recognized all too well and it scared her, for the last time she saw that look it was on the face of her husband after he had killed someone in front of her. It was a mixture of scared, nervous, shame and extreme guilt. Minutes later Gaara arrived and after kissing his wife he headed up the stairs but stopped when Nia called him.

"Gaara I think something's wrong with Naminé."

"I know I'm going to speak with her right now." Nia could tell that Gaara knew_ something_, she waited in silence in the kitchen hoping that their talk went well…

**Naminé's world is slowly unraveling, not to mention that Gaara caught her accidental kill of the bakery robber…questions comments and the like as usual you can PM me or leave them in a review and I'll get back to you okies? For those who celebrate Christmas merry Christmas, for those who don't happy holidays and be safe.**


	16. Facing your fears

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 15

Facing your fear

Gaara knocked on the door and entered before Naminé could respond. She looked up at him from her bed.

"I want the truth, do you understand?" This caught the teen off guard.

"Yes I understand."

"During the mission you told me that the man got away, yet after you told the owner of the bakery that she had nothing to worry about anymore, why?"

"I just had a feeling…"

"Having a feeling and knowing something, are two completely different things Naminé. You know this. Next was anyone injured or killed on your mission?"

"No." she said quietly avoiding his eyes.

"You're lying to me Naminé, tell me what happened."

"Nothing happened, Dad. The guy ran off, what do you want me to do! ?"

"I want you to tell the truth!" Gaara said angrily.

"I am!"

"Naminé, what am I?"

"My dad."

"Aside from that." He said slowly starting to lose his patience.

"The Kazekage."

"Naminé." He said warningly.

"Fine you're a jinchuriki! What's the point in asking me this? I already know!"

"You know about Shukaku, you know she's a demon connected to the sands of this area, you of all people should understand that if a body is crushed in an alley and buried under the sand _I_ of all people would find out! She can smell spilt blood from miles away and _so can I_!" he hissed angrily watching as his daughter's eyes went wide. "Naminé _Isako_ Sabaku, I gave you every opportunity to tell me the truth, now you _will_ tell me what happened, it's _not _an option anymore, now spill it." Gaara growled angrily, and the fact that his daughter was blatantly lying to him angered him further.

"I-I…." her voice broke as she buried her face in her hands. "I didn't mean to! I never meant for it to happen! It just did…I'm sorry…."Gaara's frustrations immediately slipped away.

"Tell me what happened and we'll make this right." He said softly yet in a firm voice, he refused to be a push over for her tears, besides Temari had taught her how to fake cry so he was not going to go easy on her unless he was sure she was truly upset.

"You can't make it right!" she shouted at him. "I killed him! I panicked, and I had a flashback and freaked out and the next thing I knew he was dead! Kazekage or not you can't fix this!" she said hysterically, these tears he knew were real.

"You aren't ready to be on missions, we'll hold off on them for a bit longer-

"But I'm fine!" she insisted.

"No, Naminé you aren't. There's physical health and mental health, physically you're ready for missions, mentally you're still hurting, you're clearly not ready." Gaara said softly trying to calm his child.

"I am not going to become a burden to everyone!" Naminé shouted her teammate's words still ringing in her head. Gaara looked at her weirdly.

"You've never been a burden Naminé, never. Besides you're my daughter, it's my job to keep you safe and to take care of you."

"I know that dad."

"Obviously not because you're disputing it, now tell me what else is bothering you, there's been something up for almost a month now. I've waited for you to tell either your mother or I what's wrong, I'm finished waiting, tell me." Gaara said sitting at the desk chair sending a glare to the bird who was hissing at him from inside the cage.

"I haven't been sleeping well."

"I can tell, I don't think you've slept at all actually." Gaara said simply recognizing the symptoms his daughter was giving off from his own experience, that and she was starting to get dark rings around her eyes from lack of sleep.

"I haven't slept at all this week, or most of last week, or the week before that…I keep having nightmares, just terrible nightmares."

"It's okay to be afraid of those dreams Naminé." Gaara said watching his daughter's reaction as she jumped from her seat on the bed.

"I'm not afraid! I'm not scared and I'm not a burden, I refuse to be any of those things!" she said holding her head in her hands.

"It's normal to be afraid Naminé everyone's afraid of something." Gaara said softly.

"Nobody's afraid to sleep…that's the stupidest thing to be scared of…"

"I was…I was an insomniac for almost thirteen years before I met your mother. Your grandparents helped me out in a big way Naminé. Shukaku was sealed poorly and she was constantly trying to take over my mind. I'd have nightmares all the time and I never slept, it would come to the point where I'd collapse in unconsciousness get ten minutes of sleep and stay awake for weeks at a time. The only reason exhaustion didn't kill me was because of Shukaku. Once the seal was fixed, the dreams would continue though they wouldn't be as bad it got easier because I faced my fear, you need to do the same."

"But I _can't_. I'm not strong like you." She said flopping back on the bed with her head hanging low.

"I thought you weren't afraid?"

"I'm not…" Naminé said hesitantly.

"Then go to sleep." Gaara said flicking off the light but not leaving the room.

"Please turn the light on…dad _please_." Naminé asked in a pleading voice as Gaara flicked the light back on.

"Is it the dark that frightens you?"

"It's what's in the dark." She mumbled holding onto her knees as she looked around the room. Gaara sat on the edge of the bed and looked at his daughter.

"Admitting your fear is the first step of overcoming it." Gaara said wisely.

"Yeah? Who told you that?"

"Shukaku…she's quite intelligent once you get past all of her perverted nonsense." Gaara said simply. Naminé stood and walked over to the bird's cage and began brushing Mystery's feathers with her fingers making the bird coo in happiness.

"What was it for you?" the teen asked not looking at her father, but after listening to the puzzled silence she rephrased her question. "What was it that you feared, what was it that you had to admit to yourself? That you overcame?" Gaara sat quietly for a long time until finally he answered surprising the girl with his response.

"You. I was terrified of the thought of you." The girl turned around to face her father completely puzzled.

"What do you mean me?"

"Naminé, before your mother and I met I grew up alone, unwanted and I believed myself to be unloved, I carried that around my entire life, and because I felt I was unloved I did not think I was capable of loving someone other than your mother whom at that point I had just begun to let in. Your mother and I secretly married after the Akatsuki incident that struck Konoha, but had a public marriage four years later once we learned about you. I'll never forget that day she told me, I was terrified though that soon changed, I was ecstatic simply by the thought of you. The circumstance in which you were born though terrified me and because of that my fears once again returned. My father hated me for taking the life of my mother with my birth, I feared I would do the same to you had the same thing happened…however I learned something the day you were born…In fact I learned it the very moment I first knew you were on the way but it didn't really sink in until I first saw your face…"

_Wooooo a flashback oooooooo_

_Gaara sat alone in his office finishing up his paperwork when Nia entered the office._

"_Gaara I have to tell you something." He looked up hearing the tone in his wife's voice, she seemed worried, more so than usual with the particularly heavy workload from the hospital she had been dealing with recently._

"_What's wrong?" he asked standing to greet the brunette who kissed him._

"_I think you'll want to sit down for this…" Gaara looked at her weirdly before complying with her request sitting in the chair in front of the desk and facing Nia. He watched as she took several slow breaths._

"_Are you ok Nia? Maybe _you_ should sit." He said standing to offer her the seat._

"_Gaara, please sit back down before I freak out and then end up not telling you. This is really important." The nineteen year old said to her husband nervously._

"_Then tell me love." He said giving her his undivided attention._

"_I'm…I…" Nia fumbled for her words…why was it so easy to practice saying it at home?_

"_You're…?" Now he was getting nervous, was she ok? Was she sick? Did she have to go somewhere?_

"_I'm pregnant." Nia watched as his green eyes widened in shock._

"_P-pregnant?" did he just say that word out loud? Did __**she**__ just say that word out loud!?_

"_Pregnant." She confirmed._

"_You're having a baby?" now she took a step forward and knelt in front of him cupping his face in her hands._

"_No, __**we're**__ having a baby, half of this is yours you know."_

"_A baby…?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Ours?" now she kind of wanted to flick his forehead…she resisted._

"_Whose else would it be Gaara? It's yours, mine, and it's ours, we're having a baby. Now tell me your thoughts on this because I'm scared to death."_

"_I'm terrified, you're positive?" he asked running his hand through his unruly hair._

"_I went to the doctors today, I'm three and a half months along, and it's definitely a baby."_

"_Ok….we can do this…hell I alone am running an entire ninja village, how tough can a baby be?"_

"_**You'd be surprised, running a village and raising a family at twenty one? Good luck." **__Shukaku said simply._

'_You are NOT helping this situation!'_

"_**Who said I was trying to help?"**_

_4 months later (6 months along)_

_After she had told him the news they immediately had a public wedding, the last thing they needed was rumors about their child before it was born…Nia was getting an ultrasound today, she had finally "popped" so to say, for her stomach was now quite prominent under all of her shirts and dresses, there was no hiding it anymore, Sabaku Nia, wife of the Kazekage was pregnant and was the talk of the village. Gaara refused to allow her a moment's privacy now that it was obvious she was pregnant, he guarded her at all moments to ensure her safety. Nia walked into the room and Gaara's sand helped her onto the table and in moments the nurse arrived and prepared the ultrasound machine. The red headed Kazekage watched as blue gel was squeezed onto his wife's swollen stomach and the strange looking wand was pressed against her belly, suddenly a loud whooshing sound could be heard in the room startling the red head making Nia laugh quietly._

"_That would be your baby's heart beat Kazekage-sama." The nurse said._

"_It's so fast." He said softly._

"_That's perfectly normal. Your baby seems to be developing quite nicely, everything's perfect for this stage of development. Would you like to know the sex of the baby?"_

"_Gaara, do you want to know?" Nia asked softly, but before she could get an answer suddenly an image showed on the screen and the baby's face could be seen clear as day._

"_She's beautiful…" he said softly watching as the nurse clicked on the image and saving it as a picture._

"_Gaara how do you know the baby's a girl?"_

"_She is, I can just tell." Nia looked at the nurse who continued to scan her stomach._

"_He's right she's a girl." The nurse said with a smile…_

_1 month later (7 months along)_

_Gaara sat in his office working on paperwork with Nia sitting contently at a table on the other side of the room picking at the fruit salad to her left and placing missions in accordance to rank. Gaara was working diligently when he paused suddenly hearing his wife giggle. He looked up to see her smiling at him still sitting at her table._

"_The baby's kicking." The brunette said with a glowing smile, and immediately Gaara stood to make his way over. It seemed to be a game he and his unborn daughter would play, she'd kick he'd run over to feel it, and immediately she'd stop. Gaara however was determined, he made his way over and Nia took his hand and placed it on her large belly where the baby was kicking. He waited and waited and waited…she'd gotten him again._

"_Awww, Love I'm sorry." Nia said pulling him towards her gently for a kiss and smiling as their lips met. Gaara pulled back with a gentle smile and knelt down in front of the mother of his child placing his hands on both sides of her belly as he rested his forehead against it._

"_You know, normally I'd say it's a bad thing for you to be kicking your mommy, but it lets us know that your growing and that you'll be strong Little One…I wish you'd show me." He whispered softly to Nia's belly as she gently ran her fingers through his hair, she felt so terribly bad that the baby was teasing him like this. Then he felt it, the baby kicked…him…right in the forehead. Nia gasped softly, blinking and looking down surprise etched just as clearly in her features as they were in Gaara's as he looked up to meet her gaze stunned. Then he laughed, the deep rich melodic laugh that Nia so loved, and that he laughed so rarely and only with her. His eyes were dancing with pure joy and radiated warmth and love leaning up he kissed his wife who laughed right beside him as he kissed her belly._

"_Thank you my Little One."_

_3 weeks later (7 months along)_

"_Gaara I want some juice and I swear to all that is holy if I don't get some I'm going to go crazy!" Cravings were a bitch…Gaara learned this very quickly. "I-I'm so s-sorry I y-yelled at y-you!" Nia cried busting out into tears…he also learned about crazy mood swings. "I-I'm going down the street to g-get some juice." _

"_Nia, we have five different kinds of juices here at the house: apple, orange, tomato, grape, and pineapple." Oh how he hated the mood swings, never in his life had he ever wanted to run and hide more than when his extremely pregnant wife was flipping through moods. Combining crazy cravings and raving mood swings with his normally calm wife created a creature from the most inner depths of hell that made Gaara want to hide in a corner and use a torch for protection._

"_You always bring home the wrong juice!" she snapped in frustration._

"_You always want something different by the time I get back!" he yelled back feeling completely helpless._

"_W-why are you yelling a-at me? !" Nia sobbed, and bam like a punch to the face came the immense feeling of guilt…_

"_I didn't mean to yell I'm sorry!" he said quickly hoping to avoid a complete melt down. _

"_I'm going to get juice now." She said waddling to the door and slipping her shoes on, she'd gotten so far along she no longer walked but waddled, Gaara found it to be very cute._

"_Ok, go get juice." Gaara said trying to keep her calm._

"_Bye…" she said as she was closing the door._

"_Bye…"_

"_Love you…"_

"_I love you too." He said with a wave as he watched her walk from the window to the store down the block. It normally takes three minutes to get to and from the store usually it took her being so pregnant and full of cravings ten to fifteen. Gaara sat and prepared to wait watching the door anxiously as he remembered the incident on her 20__th__ birthday, he followed her to the store when she didn't want him too, a very unwise decision on his part…Nia snapped and flipped on him outside the store, then immediately melted into tears apologizing and making him feel guilty. Pregnancy made his usually passive and sweet Nia scary as all hell._

_O0o0o0o0o0_

_Nia walked to the store in record time, when she wanted her juice by the gods was she going to get it. She made it to the back of the store and found the can of mango juice she'd been craving and immediately popped it open and downed the can then and there, never had she felt so satisfied, grabbing four more cans, which held three cups of juice each by the way, she went to the register and gave the man the money paying for the first can she drank as well. She tossed it in the trash and began waddling home she could see her husband watching her from the upstairs window. He gave her a small wave and vanished from his vantage point most likely heading down the stairs to meet her at the door like he always would._

_O0o0o0o0o0_

_Gaara couldn't wait, every time Nia had such an extreme craving and finally got what she wanted she was the sweetest thing in the world, she reverted back into her happy bubbly self. He made it to the bottom of the stairs and headed to the door opening it and expecting to see her walking up the landing, what he didn't expect to see was an empty street and a bag of juice dropped on the ground with no Nia in sight._

_O0o0o0o0o0_

_Nia was terrified, not for herself but for her baby and she held her stomach protectively. She had been ripped into the alley by these two thugs, and immediately given them all her money, but once she had been recognized as the wife of the Kazekage one of the men, the older of the two wanted nothing more than to kill her child calling it the spawn of a beast as he delivered a sharp kick to her stomach. Nia's knees buckled the pain she felt was immense and she was quickly kneeling in a growing mixture of water and blood that was pooling around her as she trembled. The sight made her scream, and the younger man who had been all for letting her go after taking her cash ran as fast as he could and got the hell out of there. Nia was hysterical and sobbing, what was happening to their baby! ? What was happening to their daughter? She didn't even have time to think for mere seconds later she was slammed to the ground by her neck with a large blade being thrust towards her stomach. She screamed at the sight and grabbed the blade gashing her hand, she would not let her baby get hurt by this man. He slapped her hard and brought the blade to her throat, her arms quickly blocking her neck from harm's way. Feeling the blade cut into her arms once again, Nia began screaming for help._

_O0o0o0o0o0_

_Gaara raced down the street his heart dropping when he heard the screams, and he recognized them immediately. He made his way to the back of the building and found a man pinning his wife to the ground by her neck holding a knife to her stomach as she clawed at the hand around her neck, her face turning purple from lack of oxygen with cuts and gashes on her arms and hands. The sand wasted no time in constricting the man for once it reached him it crushed him splattering blood on the ground and wall. He immediately rushed over to Nia who lay on the ground holding her belly as she cried coughing and gasping for air._

"_Are you ok? What do you need?" he asked nervously not knowing what the hell to do for her._

"_I-I need to go to the hospital, my water broke, he kicked me and my water broke!" she said in a panicked and pained voice. Immediately he understood the urgency of the situation, he'd been doing his homework after all. Babies stayed in the womb for around 9 months, maybe a bit shorter or a bit longer than that. The water breaking means the baby is on the way. Nia had only just reached the middle of the 7__th__ month of her pregnancy. She was in her 33__rd__ week and her water broke, this was bad, very bad, especially since babies stayed in the womb for around 40 weeks or so. _

_Gaara lifted her up and hurried to the hospital, they had already been told early in the pregnancy to not use sand teleportation, as it could have unknown effects on the baby. He made it to the hospital in record time and the sight of the Kazekage rushing into the hospital carrying his pregnant bloody wife spread like wild fire. Nia was taken from him and brought to the labor and delivery ward where she was monitored and the baby was being checked. There was no stopping the contractions or the labor she was going to be delivering her baby 2 months early from her due date._

_Oh he was terrified, there was no hiding it, his wife could die, his daughter could die, she was premature, premature babies in Suna were usually very sick babies. Hours had passed as the contractions grew in intensity until finally she was ready to deliver. Once their daughter was finally born immediately the doctors went to work however they were greeted with nothing but silence from their baby. Gaara could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he nervously waited for something anything, even the slightest sound so he'd know that everything would be ok…but it wasn't. What he heard next nearly killed him as he felt his heart stop._

"_The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck, she's not breathing, get her to the NICU a.s.a.p. and start suction and ventilation quickly!" the head nurse said while the doctor continued to try and stop Nia's bleeding. __**Their daughter wasn't breathing**__…Gaara felt his heart plummet. The baby made no noise as they swept her from the room, and neither Gaara, nor Nia got to see her before she was rushed off to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)._

"_Nurse call down to the OR and order a room immediately, I can't stop the bleeding!" Mere moments after the news of their daughter, Nia was rushed to the operating room. His child wasn't breathing and they couldn't stop the bleeding. Gaara was left in the waiting room alone and fearing for the lives of his wife and new born, it was his worst nightmare come to life. Hours passed and finally a nurse came out to meet him, never in his twenty-two years of life had he ever been so nervous or afraid as he was in this moment._

"_Kazekage-sama, please come with me." He was brought to an empty room and the woman sat across from him. "Please sit." Gaara sat. "Your wife is in very critical condition, when she was kicked her uterus tore detaching the placenta and causing internal bleeding, she vaginally delivering her child didn't help matters, but we couldn't risk preforming a C-section, had we done so she may not have recovered because of the intense blood loss, she has a very rare blood type especially in this area of the country, we couldn't risk having her bleed more than she was so we had to recycle the blood that was pooling in her abdomen. That means we removed it and put it through a machine to remove any potentially fatal or harmful bacteria before putting it back into her body through an IV. We had to do this before bringing her into surgery. She's in the ICU being closely monitored, I'm sorry but we don't know if she'll pull through. _

"_Now to the matter of your daughter, she wasn't breathing when she was born, when your wife was attacked or sometime during delivery the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby's neck cutting off her oxygen. We got her to breathe on her own but she's barely able to do that much, her lungs are not fully developed, so she'll have to stay in the hospital for several weeks maybe even a month or two in the NICU until she's strong enough to be off the ventilator, you're free to go see her, if you'd like I'll bring you." _

_Gaara nodded, but was scared to death. Would he be like his father? What would happen if Nia died? Would he resent his child and hate her as his father had done to him? His mind was racing and before he knew it he was being brought into a room filled with incubators and machines. The nurse stopped him from entering._

"_Before you go in you need to wash your hands, we don't want the babies getting sick with their weak immune systems." Gaara nodded and scrubbed his hands and was sure to leave his sand outside the room before he entered. The Kazekage was led to a plastic box-like incubator the only thing labeled on it was the surname Sabaku. He could feel his heart pounding anxiously as he walked over._

"_This is your daughter Kazekage-sama." His eyes slowly drifted to the infant in the incubator and immediately two things jumped out at him stealing his breath away, one: She was tiny, the tiniest person he had ever seen, tiny fingers, tiny toes, tiny ears, eyes, and nose. And two: The hair…thick, blood-red hair like his, just as Nia wanted was poking out from under a soft pink hat. She was absolutely beautiful._

"_These holes right here allow you to touch her if you'd like." The nurse said motioning towards the arm holes in the side. Hesitantly he reached in and touched the tiny baby. Tiny was an understatement, her head fit into the palm of his hand with room to spare. His finger touched her tiny hand and he was surprised when the infant gripped the digit tightly in her grasp. She was so strong for one so small._

"_This machine here helps her breathe." She said pointing to the machine attached to the tube that went down his daughter's throat. "Her lungs aren't very strong so this gives her extra oxygen. She weighs three pounds and two ounces." He was still astonished at how tightly the newborn squeezed his finger, it was then he knew…_

'_I could never be him…'_

"_**What?" **__Shukaku asked._

'_I could never be my father, I could never hurt her, and I could never hate her…this is my baby…__**She **__is__** my **__baby, I would go to the ends of the earth and die for her so she never has to feel a single ounce of pain or sadness…'_

"_**I could have told you that…What about Bug?"**_

'_We pray for the best, it's all we can do now…' he thought, his heart breaking thinking of his wife._

"_**What ya gonna name her?"**_

"_Naminé… her name will be Naminé, because she will be the ocean of love in our lives…" Gaara stayed in the NICU just gazing at his child. She was beautiful, incredibly beautiful and pink, everything about this baby was pink, pink hat, pink feet, pink hands, pink nose, pink everything, and the hair, he still couldn't believe how much of it she had, it was just a head full of thick red hair, just like his. Gently he lay her head back down on the cotton mattress she'd been lying on and immediately the infant began to fuss. Gaara didn't know what to do and instantly he felt helpless however the nurse had been watching and smiled._

"_It's the warmth and smell Kazekage-sama. Your baby recognizes and feels security from you, hold her again and she'll stop." The woman said simply and Gaara did as he was told and much to his surprise the fussing infant grew quiet and he felt his heart melt, already, she was hours old and already she wanted __**his**__ warmth and loving protection. He stayed holding her for over an hour until Naminé finally went to sleep and then left to go check on Nia after gently laying the preemie baby back down. _

_The ICU was quiet with the rhythmic sound of various beeping monitors, with directions from the nurse he made his way to Nia's area and sat with her holding her hand, both her hands and arms needed to be healed up by a medical ninja because the knife left such deep gashes._

"_Hey…" she said softly looking over to Gaara, she was very pale._

"_Welcome back." He said squeezing her hand._

"_How's the baby?" she asked weakly squeezing his hand back._

"_She's beautiful, she's tiny, she has my hair, your nose and the tiniest fingers and toes I've ever seen."_

"_That's good." Nia said softly. "Have you thought of a name?"_

"_What do you think of Naminé?" Gaara asked hoping she wouldn't hate it, how would he tell her that she was already named something she hated?_

"_Naminé? Kind of ironic seeing as how we live in the desert…but I like it, I like it a lot actually." Gaara secretly breathed a sigh of relief. A week had passed and Nia was released from the hospital, a month later, Naminé was healthy enough to be brought home._

_Whoosh, good flashy huh? End flashback oooooooooooooooo_

"You were afraid of how you would treat me?" Naminé asked curiously.

"I was afraid of how I would view you. Would you be some creature that tried killing the love of my life like I was to my father? Would you be something I would give my life for? I knew the moment I saw you, the moment you squeezed my finger in your tiny hand, the moment I held you…I knew I could never ever hate you, I could never harbor anything but love for you. I knew I would die again and again if it meant keeping you safe and free from harm because you were _my_ daughter. I was terrified of how I would view you so I faced my fear. Accept that it's there and face it. That's the only way to overcome it, because if you never face it, it will control you forever." Naminé sat on the bed once again.

"I'll try…I'll try to sleep."

"Good, you need it. Mom made our favorite, tongue and gizzards with peppers and onions. Are you hungry?" Naminé shook her head. "Ok, try and get some sleep, you know we're right down the stairs."

"I know, good night Dad…"

"Good night Naminé." Gaara said kissing the top of her head before walking from the room. Climbing into bed the teen was overcome with exhaustion and quickly fell asleep.

O0o0o0

Hours later Naminé woke in tears as she panted heavily looking around her darkened room. Tentatively she stepped out of her bed opening her bedroom door and glancing down the hall in both directions, it was times like this where she regretted asking for a bedroom on the third floor. Naminé crept down the hall and made her way to the stairs silently descending them and hurried down the halls until she reached the familiar door and after a moment or two, listening to nothing but silence she turned the knob beneath her fingers and pushed the door open a few inches listening intently once again. Once again she was greeted with silence, but as she entered the room closing the door behind her the sound of soft breathing could be heard as relief flooded through her. Feeling quite like a child the red headed teen crawled into her parent's bed cuddling up in between them.

O0o0o0

Gaara woke the next morning feeling overly warm and wondering why he was at the edge of the bed, he was usually sprawled closer in the middle with his wife curled beside him, her head under his chin resting on his chest…but not this morning. Something was also telling him that reaching over a good morning wake up (wink wink) would be a really, _really, __**really, REALLY**_ bad idea…call it parental intuition. He wanted to move but there was a heavy something laying on his arm and mere moments before he opened his eyes he felt a light scratching on his head.

"Gaara, wake up."

"'M already up." He mumbled.

"Naminé's in the bed." Nia said softly.

"Makes sense, I'm holding on for dear life over here." Gaara said teasingly opening his eyes to find his daughter curled up between them laying on his arm and holding onto her mother's tightly. Nia looked distressed.

"Gaara, my hands asleep and I have to pee." The red head was confused.

"Then go."

"I can't." Nia said glancing at her daughter. "She freaks out every time I try to move." Gaara made to sit up but the moment he shifted Naminé let out a panicked cry and held onto her father's t-shirt and her mother's arm tighter. Immediately Gaara stopped moving and his daughter settled down, pausing for a moment Gaara blinked, he had an idea. Using his sand he made it settle between his wife's and daughter's locked arms and slowly expanded it allowing Nia to slip her arm out as she quickly raced to the bathroom. Achingly slowly he shrank the distance back down until her arm rested on the blanket without his daughter stirring, he also used the sand to shift her a few good inches to the other side of the bed to get some more room.

"Well this was an interesting start to the day to say the least…are you planning on escaping too Gaara?" Nia asked. The red head shrugged.

"It's Saturday." He said simply. "It won't kill us to sleep in, especially if she gets some uninterrupted rest from it." Gaara said rubbing his daughter's head with his free hand, hearing this Nia smiled.

"Well if that's the case, I'm going back to bed too because I'm still tired."

"Be my guest, there's plenty of room." Gaara said making Nia shake her head as she climbed into the bed.

"Sometimes I just don't know what to do with you."

"I love you too." The red head said with a smile as he closed his eyes once again.

**Sorry about the lack of updates, I've been working like crazy and I'm having internet connection issues with my laptop. As usual any questions comments or just want to state your thoughts please feel free via PM or via review. I'd love to answer any questions you may have regarding the story the characters or the plotline. A/N I HAVE INTERNET AGAIN!**


	17. The Past Returns

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 16

The Past Returns

Aya was bored to death, she was due to leave the hospital Friday and it was Tuesday evening and she wanted nothing more than to get out right now, but NOOO, she was under strict orders of bed rest given to her by Tsunade herself. There's only so long one can lie in a bed even if they are in a chakra depleted state, and not get bored to freekin death…TV did nothing for her. To kill time she meditated and practiced manipulating the little chakra she had left; that was until a voice and the sound of the door snapping shut broke her concentration sending a shiver down her spine.

"Wow, I didn't believe you were actually here Aya…What happened with being a Jonin? Your buddies didn't help you out when you got your ass kicked?" The blonde didn't even bother to open her eyes, she was too busy trying to keep herself calm, trying to quell the blossoming panic in her stomach.

"Norio, what are you doing here?" The Inuzuka boy grinned baring his sharp canines.

"I wanted to see that you were here first hand, heh, some Jonin you are." She opened an eye and shot him a glare.

"I'm not a Jonin fleabag, I'm an ANBU, and no matter what rank you're in, you always get the short end of the stick if you're ambushed."

"As bitter as always I see." Aya truly could not stand Norio, he was her old teammate and was completely foul, their parents may be good friends, but there was something about the teen that had never settled right with Aya it made her nervous, even before their last mission together which she tried so hard to forget.

"I'm not bitter you just annoy the hell out of me." She snipped closing her eyes as she tried to continue to try to meditate. 'We're in a hospital, he can't hurt me here, just relax…relax…breathe…'

"So, you get laid yet?"

"EXCUSE ME! ?" her lavender eyes snapped open in shock.

"Come on, the entire village knows there's something going on with you and Asuma." The Inuzuka boy said leaning on the bed rail. "But you don't have to be coy you know, if you wanted my attention all you had to do was talk to me instead of playing hard to get and trying to make me jealous with that loser." He said flicking her pony tail. Oh did she want to kill him. Actually she was envious of Naminé's ability to use sand because choking the Inuzuka before her seemed like a pretty good idea at the moment, not that she could do that in the condition she was currently in though.

"Norio, get the hell out." Aya growled. The brunette merely chuckled.

"Nah, I think I'll stick around for a bit." She'd had enough of him for one day, climbing from the bed she walked over to the door quickly losing her energy as she did so. Now Aya knew why she was on strict bed rest. She opened the door and stood by it her legs starting to tremble from exhaustion.

"Get out now." Norio walked over to the door and shut it.

"No." he said leaning against the wall and blocking her in a corner.

"Fine, what do I have to do to get you the hell away from me?" Aya said in annoyance glaring at the boy in front of her and immediately regretting her choice of words seeing the look that came upon his face.

"Well that was waaay too easy, kiss me." He said with a smirk. Now the blonde was just outraged.

"Not even _in_ your freekin' dreams you creep! I'm dating Asuma not you, he's the only one I'll kiss."

"That doesn't seem fair now does it? I just want one little kiss."

"And I said no. Now get out and leave me alone before I tell my dad and Asuma." She said irritably as she tried to move past the brunette.

"You think I'm scared of him? I'd kick his ass any day of the week." Norio growled blocking her path once again.

"Do you fail to remember when he kicked yours?" 'Come on, go away, get into one of your pissy huffs and just go away.' The blonde thought desperately

"All I did was give you a hug!"

"You felt me up! Repeatedly! Seriously what the hell goes on in that mind of yours! ?" Aya snapped pushing the boy aside to get to the door only to be held by her arms and pushed against the wall roughly making her blink in shock.

"You know, I'm getting really tired of you always rejecting me Aya." He growled stepping close too close.

"Maybe if you took the hint the first time I wouldn't have to reject you again and again. It's pretty sad that it's come to the point where you have to exploit my weakness right now though. I should have known you'd try something like this. Now let go of me before you do something stupid that you'll regret." 'Let go of me damn it! Why now? Why the hell must he decide to come after me now? Why does Norio have to do this when I can't fight and defend myself against him?' Aya tried pulling her arms away but he only held on tighter.

"Who's to say I'll regret anything I do to you? I may end up getting my ass kicked, and I may end up kicking yours, but I'll still have gotten exactly what I wanted from you in the end, and I'll have enjoyed _every_ second if it." Aya's breath caught in her throat as fear flickered through her eyes, never had he been so aggressive before not since the first incident, then again they hadn't been alone together since either, and there had been quite a few run-ins since then, but someone else had always been there, her siblings, her aunt, her parents, Asuma or her sensei…no one else was here this time and as much as she didn't want to admit it he was scaring her…a lot. A knock suddenly rang through the room and before she could respond Aya's mouth was covered as her eyes flickered to the door.

"Tell them you're getting in the shower and to come back later." He whispered in her ear, his hand dropping and resting on her throat. Stubbornly Aya shook her head, her eyes widening in fear as he added pressure to her throat cutting off her air.

"I-I'm getting into the shower now, could you come back later p-please?" Aya said in a shaking voice feeling his nails dig into her neck as her heart raced. 'Please say no, please say no, please don't leave, please, don't leave! Say you need a blood sample, say something urgent came up! Say I need x-rays, a cat scan, an MRI or something! Please!'

"Alright I'll be back in a half an hour, enjoy your bath and try not to get your bandage too wet." Hearing that Aya began trembling as her heart raced in panic, and they listened as the nurse walked down the hall and finally her footsteps disappeared.

"You hear that? Thirty minutes all to ourselves." He said dragging her into the bathroom and turning the shower on before roughly pulling the blonde back over to the hospital bed as she tried scrambling away from him. This was her one chance and she had to take it, she didn't care if it killed her. Quickly Aya made several hand signs and casted a genjutsu on the boy who only seconds later tossed her on the bed. Her back slammed against the mattress and Aya feared that the jutsu wasn't strong enough especially when he climbed on the bed, his hand clamped over her mouth, and pushing her hospital gown high up her legs as the blonde trembled nervously beneath him her eyes glossy with unshed tears as his fingers ran along the sensitive skin on her stitched up wound. Then suddenly his head whipped around and faced the door as he paled. Because of the Genjutsu Aya cast, he saw Tsunade walk into the room. Norio pulled her up and used Aya as a shield to protect him from the non-existent healer before tossing the blonde to the side and escaping out the window. As she hit the ground landing on the side of her bed away from the door Aya felt several of her stitches pop and gasped in pain, her vision swimming and slowly fading as chakra exhaustion began to overwhelm her. Spotting the help button Aya reached for it falling short by only a few inches before blacking out from a mixture of pain and chakra exhaustion.

O0o0o0o0

Minato had just finished his training and was making his way to the hospital with a plate of his mom's food for Aya. Hinata was convinced that if she ate food from home the blonde would recover faster and be home sooner. He made his way to her room and knocked, but was puzzled when no one answered. Aya was supposed to be on bed rest so she should have been there to answer the door. He opened it, saw the empty bed and heard the shower running, and it struck him as odd. It was so quiet in the room, too quiet in fact. Aya usually listened to music or at least sang in the shower, she had always done so ever since she was a little kid. Placing the food on the tray he walked over to the bathroom door and knocked.

"Aya, are you in there? Aya?" When he received no response he began to get nervous. He knocked once again and still hearing only silence he opened the door. "Aya, are you-….? Where is she?" Walking over he turned the shower off. Minato walked back towards the bed and froze when he saw blonde hair lying on the ground. Immediately he leapt over the hospital bed and found his sister lying in a small red puddle, her bandage was saturated and dripping blood onto the floor.

"AYA! MEDIC! WE NEED HELP IN HERE!" Grabbing the sheet from the bed and holding her tightly Minato applied pressure to her bleeding stitches.

"Aya wake up, come on Sunshine." He said shaking her shoulder. It took several moments, but slowly she woke, her eyes dazed and looked around before noticing that she was being held by someone. Aya stiffened and looked over hesitantly nervous of who it could be and met her brother's concerned gaze, immediately she burst into hysterical tears as she held onto the bluenette tightly burying her face in his shoulder. Minato was shaken by what just happened.

"Aya stop moving! What's wrong, what happened?"

"H-he wasn't gonna s-stop…I-I was terrified, I'm so s-scared Minato h-he wouldn't have stopped u-until he got what h-he wanted." She cried burying her face into his shirt.

"Who wouldn't stop what? Tell me what happened!" Minato said angrily looking his sister over to see if there was any other injury aside from her torn stitches.

"N-Norio…he…h-he tried forcing himself o-on me. H-he…he d-didn't- h-he was gonna- Nii-san I was so scared I-I couldn't e-even scream…If I hadn't used the genjutsu he w-would have…I w-would have b-been-Ahh! My side h-hurts so m-much." She sobbed flinching at the pressure he was putting on her torn stitches.

"_HE_ did this to you? !" Minato growled as Aya simply nodded her head as she trembled.

"Is everything alright in here? I thought I heard- Oh! What happened! ?" The nurse stared in shock at the crying bloody girl on the ground and the boy holding her tightly.

"Go get our parents immediately, we have an emergency situation and we need them right now, and get a damn medic in here!" Minato said looking at the older woman who nodded and hurried from the room. Another nurse tried bringing Aya from the room to work on re-stitching her wound but she refused to let go of her brother who held her tightly as she cried, instead the woman left and returned with all of the needed materials and began disinfecting the slightly healed gash once again.

"Mom and Dad are on the way, they're gonna make everything right, alright? I'll keep you safe ok?" Minato said trying to make his sobbing sister feel just a bit better as the nurse was sewing her bleeding side back up again. He brushed her bangs away from her eyes, and she merely nodded her head flinching every now and then as she continued to cry. Minato had no idea what to feel, he was terrified for his sister, ready to kill Norio, angry he hadn't come sooner, devastated that she had ever been put through something like this in the first place, and relieved that somehow in her injured state Aya had stopped him.

"M-Minato…is Dad g-gonna be mad at me?" Aya asked suddenly, and the bluenette shook his head fiercely.

"No, he's not going to be mad at you, no one will be mad at you for what he tried to do, I promise. It is _not_ your fault Aya, it's _not_ your fault, it will _never _be your fault for what he tried to do I promise." Minutes later Minato could hear the distinct heavy footed footsteps of his father hurrying down the hall, Aya heard them too and held tighter to her brother still fearing her father's reaction to the news despite Minato's words of comfort burying her head deeper into his arm. The form of the Hokage soon took over their vision as Naruto hurried into the room.

"What happened? What's wrong? They said there was an emergency with Aya." He said as he knelt down to be with his kids on the floor, the nurse was just putting in the final stitches.

"Aya tell him." Minato said softly when the woman finished up her work, covering the wound with ointment and a new bandage she left the room, but the girl shook her head as she trembled refusing to look at her father.

"Aya, you can tell me anything, I swear I won't be mad. What happened? How'd you get hurt?" Naruto asked softly, but still Aya shook her head only crying harder.

"Do you want me to tell him?" She nodded. Naruto looked to his son.

"Minato what happened?"

"I think we should wait for mom before I say anything." Minato said softly, it was not something he ever wanted to think of, let alone say more than once…someone had tried to hurt his sister in the hospital, and with what she had told him Minato could guess the Inuzuka boy's intentions. Only one time had he been more disgusted than now, and that was when he'd been forced to watch those bastards hurt Naminé like they did. A few minutes later they could hear heeled shoes hurrying towards the room. Before she entered Minato looked his father in the eye.

"When mom comes in try and keep her calm because she'll try and go kill him." Now Naruto looked concerned but nodded his head, standing when his wife entered.

"Norio Inuzuka…he…he tried- Minato couldn't say it, but it seems he didn't have to for in moments he was cut off by Aya's wavering voice as Hinata and Naruto shared a look at the mention of the name.

"He came into my room…and I tried to make him leave…so he slammed me up against the wall…then h-he pushed me on the bed and p-pinned me down…and he pushed my hospital gown up…I-I was so scared of what he was intending to do, I-I couldn't stop him physically, I was too w-weak I tried, so I had to use a genjutsu, it drained the rest of my chakra…I was so s-scared I couldn't even move, I'm sorry...The last thing I remember is him shoving me to the ground and feeling my stitches tear." She said as she broke down crying once again.

"HE DID WHAT! ? I'm going to kill him! NARUTO LET GO OF ME I'M GOING TO KILL HIM! Let go of me! Naruto, l-let go! Naruto let me go I need to get to my baby!" Hinata screamed as she pushed her husband's arms aside. Finally he released her sure she wouldn't jump out the window and hunt Kiba's son down and kill him, and immediately Hinata rushed over holding her daughter in her arms tightly.

"When did this happen?" the blonde Kage asked.

"A few h-hours ago I think, I don't know, I'm not too sure."

"But it _was_ today?"

"Yes."

"Minato come with me, Hinata we're taking her home tonight, I'll inform Tsunade so pack up her things." Naruto said leading the bluenette boy from the room after Aya released her hold of him.

"Tell me what happened when you got there." Naruto said as he walked leading the boy down the hall.

"I knocked and there was no answer, I heard the shower running so I knocked and opened the door no one was there so I left and found her unconscious on the ground covered in blood. I woke her up and she started crying and when I asked her what happened she said that he wouldn't have stopped until he got what he wanted and that she was so scared. When I asked who she said it was Norio, then after she said she was so scared she couldn't even call out for help. Where are we going dad?"

"You I'm bringing home to be with your baby sister then I'm going to the Inuzuka compound to have a talk with Kiba and Hana. As much as I hate saying this…Because nothing happened I have to let the Inuzuka clan handle this and punish him as they see fit."

"What! ? Dad you know they won't do anything!"

"I know but it's the law, even I have to follow the law Minato." The boy swore under his breath and when they arrived back at the house the bluenette stormed up the walk way watching as his father vanished in a yellow flash. Moments later Minato changed direction and headed to the Inuzuka compound. Minato made his way through the village and when he neared the Inuzuka compound he could hear the former clan leader yelling angrily at someone, and when he finally got close enough he found that it was his father whom the brunette was yelling at. He didn't care about the conversation the bluenette had found who he was looking for looking smug near the entrance of the clan house gates. Angrily he made his way over and tackled the Inuzuka teen pinning him to the ground as he began beating the hell out of him startling the two adults who stared in shock for mere seconds before racing over to split them up.

O0o0o0

Tsunade had come immediately and checked Aya out before discharging her, she had given the girl a soldier pill to boost her chakra and scolded her for even thinking of using it no matter what situation she was in, it was better to be alive than dead. At that one moment, Aya disagreed with her, it was better to be dead than let that flea bag ever touch her like that.

**This is the end of chapter 16, any questions comments thoughts etc., PM me or leave a review and I'll answer any questions you may have. Next chapter will be out soon!**


	18. To Be The One

Dangerous lives

Chapter 17

To be the one

Hinata brought her daughter home immediately after Tsunade checked up on her and gave her some pain relievers. They arrived at the house and much to their surprise was met with a flying redhead who immediately jumped on her big sister the second the door opened.

"Aya-NeeChan! I missed you!" Kazuki squealed happily as she hugged her sister. Aya was tired and could barely stand, but pushed all that aside and held her baby sister as she jumped into her arms. "I thought you'd never come home! You were gone forever and you were really sick and I was really, really, worried about you Nee-Chan!"

"I missed you too Kazu-Chan." Aya said tiredly.

"Where're Minato Nii-san and Dad?" The red head asked her mother who stood behind them quietly supporting her eldest daughter.

"Minato and Dad had to go and finish some business before coming home. Aya's very tired Baby could you let go of her please?" Kazuki blinked before letting go of her sister and dropping to the ground. Grabbing her hand the little one led her big sister to the living room as Hinata made her way to the kitchen.

"Auntie Hanabi's here and so is Anko-sensei, I'll bring you some tea." The ten year old said making sure her sister was seated and comfortable before bouncing off with a smile. When she entered the kitchen her aunt looked close to tears and Anko was mad as hell.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" she asked looking at all of the adults.

"It's nothing you have to worry about lovie." Hinata said with a weak smile to her youngest daughter.

"Ok…" she said slowly, even at ten she was quite sharp and knew they were hiding something. Gathering the things needed, Kazuki made her sister tea and walked from the room.

"How did this happen? She was in the hospital!" Hanabi whispered in shock to her sister who shook her head.

"I don't know, I have no idea how it happened, all I know is that it almost did." Hinata said softly taking a seat at the table.

"Who found her? One of the hospital staff?" Anko asked looking from the brunette to the bluenette.

"Minato did. He found her unconscious in her room, she almost killed herself casting that jutsu. When he woke her up she told him what happened, then when Naruto and I arrived, she told us…"

"Do you know who it was that did this to her?" Hanabi asked glaring at her sister she'd kill whoever it was.

"It was Kiba's son, Norio." Even Anko was surprised.

"I knew he was always bothering her to date him but…I never thought it would ever get that far, I never thought he'd try something like that." The snake mistress said in shock. Hinata and Hanabi nodded their agreement. The door to the house could be heard opening as Naruto and Minato made their way inside, the door slamming shut after the blue haired teen entered. They could hear the children talking in the living room when suddenly an argument broke out.

"Nii-Chan I already made Aya tea!"

"Well I'll make her better tea!" Minato said obviously annoyed.

"Both of you shut up I'll make my own tea!"

"You three settle down, I'll make us all some tea ok?" Their father said watching as the oldest of his children and the youngest settled around the middle child. They all nodded as Naruto made his way out into the kitchen. Hinata caught Naruto's eye and he walked over.

"What happened?"

"Far too much to talk about now but in a nut shell after I dropped our son off _here_ he went to the Inuzuka compound and attacked the damn kid in front of Kiba, Tsume, Hana and I. He isn't getting off scot free, and neither is Norio, Hana and Tsume were mad as hell. It doesn't matter what punishment he's given, I'm having an Anbu tail him for the rest of the time it takes for Aya to recover." He said placing the kettle on the stove to heat the tea water.

"Who did you call?" Anko asked curiously.

"I asked for Wolf." Hearing that Hanabi grinned making Hinata look at her funny.

"What are you grinning about?"

"ANBU work in strict groups Hinata, especially those in squads. Because of mission danger they're far more protective over their group members. That and his code name…masks are created based on the person's chakra character, ones in the predator role are strong and deadly, but those placed in a pack type predator mask are very protective and dangerous when their own are threatened. By calling in her squad leader he may as well have just sentenced that boy to a life of pain or more realistically an early death if he ever goes near her again. I look forward to see what's become of him." Hanabi said with a dark smirk making Hinata shudder. Being in ANBU and having Anko as a sensei made her younger sister quite sadistic…not that that was a bad thing, it just scared her elder sister every once and a while is all. Anko stood and made to leave the room.

"I'm going home, tea's just not strong enough today." The purple haired snake woman said waving good bye as she left the house.

"I have to leave too, it's my turn to put Aiko to bed tonight." Hanabi said standing and following after her Sensei. Naruto shook his head at Anko and his sister-in-law, he was pretty sure a little bit of crazy was in them both, but he wouldn't change either of them.

"Naruto what do we do about this? I don't know if I could ever look at Kiba again, he looks just like his son. And after what he tried to do to Aya…I just don't know what to do." Hinata said looking away from her husband, not for the first time she felt the urge to just beat the living hell out of Kiba just for producing that thing called his son. She had no idea where the boy got it from, Kiba was such a well behaved young man and his wife Kimi was a total sweetheart.

"Gaara's coming down, he should be here tomorrow evening the latest…Naminé's coming with him, after what that poor girl's been through maybe the two girls can help each other…You know that Aya's never been one to hold on to and give into fear. And Naminé, that girl has perseverance, she can push past anything…They each have what the other lacks, I think they can help each other." Naruto said standing and pulling the whistling kettle from the stove top and taking a handful of herbs and putting it into the strainer in the pot letting it steep.

"Making your special bed time tea?" Hinata asked softly.

"Yeah, those two have had a rough day, and it's close to Kazuki's bed time anyways." He said pouring the warm liquid into three cups and bringing it out to his children who each took a cup. Naruto walked back out into the kitchen leaving the three to watch a movie. They all loved their father's tea and downed it immediately, and one by one they began to fall asleep, Kazuki was the first to go and was drooling on the arm of the couch by the next commercial. Minato was the next to knock out, his arm around both of his sisters as his head rested on Aya's shoulder. Aya was the last to fall asleep snug in between her two siblings.

O0o0o0o0

Asuma walked away from the jail house that evening, evening…it was almost 3AM covered in blood that was not his, he didn't really mind that work ran late like this…sometimes he just liked being out late at night.After leaving the jail house, Asuma went home and took a shower washing off all the blood and grime of the day, tomorrow he'd go see Aya…tonight, he'd probably just scare her if he appeared in her room at this hour looking the way he did. Getting dressed in a pair of pajama pants he flopped on his bed wishing morning would come sooner.

O0o0o0o0

Hanabi lay in bed that night, listening as her husband breathed softly next to her, she couldn't sleep at all after hearing what almost happened to her niece, it sickened and disturbed her more than she would ever allow anyone to know. Sitting up she walked from the bedroom and walked down the hall to her daughter's room where her child lay sleeping soundly.

"I promise I'll never let anything happen to you." She whispered leaning over and kissing the dirty blonde four year old on the forehead. She left the room and headed down stairs to the kitchen to make herself some tea. Once the pot was hot enough she poured herself a large cup and made her way to the table sitting quietly. An hour or so later she decided to go back to bed and hopefully get some sleep. That night Hanabi dreamed she was eleven years old again and was trapped in the alley with that drunk guy all over again, once again she was saved by Anko, and when she woke to the sounds of Amon and Aiko playing in the other room she couldn't help but wonder who should have been watching out for Aya? There were dozens of people on that floor so why did none of them hear it happening? The brunette was determined to find out, but sitting up she was immediately tackled by a blonde ball of energy…She'd find out later, after she spent some time with her little girl.

O0o0o0o0

They were in a small room, just the two of them and a lone ANBU guard who stood silently by the door, this was supposed to be a serious talk between friends and with the news of Aya's attack yesterday the talk between Hinata and Kiba had escalated immensely.

"Hinata…how many times can I say that I'm sorry? ! I'm sorry for what my son did!"

"You think sorry will change anything Kiba?" Hinata asked in a low voice glaring at the Inuzuka before her who paled as he took a step back.

" 'Nata-Chan-

"Don't you dare call me that! I'm beyond mad at you. Have you any idea what I want to do to your son? ! What I want to do to _you! ?"_

"Hinata relax he's just a kid give him a brea- Kiba never even got to finish his sentence before the sound of a loud slap rang through the air. Hinata's hand was red and throbbing as she glared at the man before her who held his cheek in shock.

"Don't you dare tell me to give him a break Kiba. What your son did to my daughter is unforgivable!"

"He didn't mean it Hinata, he's just a kid."

"Didn't mean it? ! This was no accident Kiba! Your son planned this! And he's 'just a kid'? My daughter is younger than your son! Our children are Leaf shinobi, they have their forehead protectors, your son is an adult! He knows what he did to my daughter! I'm not letting this go Kiba. We spoke already when Kakashi came to us the first time regarding _your _son and I gave him the benefit of the doubt then, I gave_ you_ the benefit of the doubt to teach your son right because I was convinced that you would control your son but you didn't! Now look what's happened! He attacked my child in the hospital!" Hinata shouted throwing her hands into the air in aggravation. Silence reigned for many minutes as Hinata controlled her rage. "Kiba, we're pressing charges." Hearing this Kiba blinked in shock.

"What? But, but Hinata you can't, that's _my son_!"

"And who he hurt was _my_ daughter…when it comes to _my_ children Kiba I do not play games, you know this, you KNOW this!"

"Hinata what can I do to make this up to you?" Hinata looked incredulous as she whirled to face him.

"NOTHING! Nothing you ever do will make up for what your son did to my daughter! He hurt my baby! Do you know what he did to her? ! She's bruised from head to toe because of him! He gave her a concussion, ripped her stitches open and scarred her for life…Do you know the kinds of emotional scars that my child has to burden now especially after watching her teammate get killed and almost being killed herself? ANSWER ME!" Kiba blinked flinching in shock, he didn't know what to say and for once he was happy that there was an ANBU in the room to keep the peace…or least that's what he assumed his job was, he didn't help much in preventing him from getting slapped.

"No, I don't."

"Of course you don't. You're ignorant to everyone but yourself…you absolutely disgust me with how little harm you believe your son's actions have caused." Turning on her heel Hinata stalked from the room only to pause at the door. "I love you Kiba, you're like a brother to me and I mean that…But if your son even looks at my daughter wrong, I'll kill him with little hesitation in the most agonizing way I know how." Hinata said walking from the room not caring to look back and leaving Kiba in silence, he knew she was absolutely serious.

O0o0o0

Minato sat outside on the stairs thinking to himself about a little bit of everything, but mostly about his little sister. Hanabi had brought their little cousin Aiko by…little devil child bit him…it's not like she was teething any more right? Oh well, she'd always had a thing for biting him, and it's not like she bit hard or anything. Minato watched as Kazuki and his mother practiced in the back yard and Aya sat alone in her room. He was worried about Aya, she was never one to be alone preferring the company of others. She hadn't been down for breakfast or even eaten lunch. Minato had checked on her periodically throughout the day, and each time she was still in her room not even changing position, just sitting on her bed with her back against the wall. Whenever someone went up to check on her they were greeted with one word answers and silence. With his Byakugan activated Minato could see the entirety of his house and a bit up the road, so it came as no surprise when Asuma rounded the corner and walked up the walkway.

"Minato, how is she?" Asuma asked looking into the boy's eyes which so resembled his lover's.

"She's broken Asuma, go fix her. I think she's been waiting for you. Everyone's been with her today, so go work your magic, Aya always seems to respond when you're around." Asuma blinked in surprise and nodded as he made his way past Minato and walked into the house. Minato watched as he climbed the stairs and knocked on Aya's door not even waiting for a response as he opened it, immediately the girl looked up before throwing herself into his arms as he held her tightly. Deactivating his Byakugan Minato closed his eyes and stood walking down towards the village.

He knew it, Aya wasn't the baby sister he needed to protect anymore, that job had been taken over by Asuma now. It was his turn to wipe away the tears, and lift her up off the ground when she fell. Sure his brotherly duties would never end…but it was Asuma's job now to hold her hand in the darkness and lead her into the light. In a way he had just given them his blessing; that however didn't mean he wouldn't beat the living hell out of the red eyed boy if he ever broke his sister's heart. He loved his baby sister, but it was time to let her go.

He wandered through the forest and cut through the park as he walked around the village. He had no particular place in mind to go to, but his thoughts never ceased. He wondered if he would ever be needed by someone the way Asuma was needed by Aya. The question was quickly answered, for when he walked by the village's main gate a flash of red caught his eye making him stop. The Kazekage, his brother Kankuro, and Naminé were walking through the gate. Minato hadn't seen the red headed beauty since being in the hospital more than a month and a half ago.

To Minato time seemed to stop when their eyes met and he could see as Naminé's eyes quickly filled with tears as she sprinted over to him. Minato wasted no time in running to meet her not caring that they were being watched by her father and uncle and dozens upon dozens of Konoha citizens. When they met she threw her arms around the blue haired boy and hugged him hard as she cried nuzzling her head in his neck, he held her just as tightly brushing her hair from her eyes and face and allowing her to cry. She looked like hell, she looked like she'd been_ through_ hell, and despite that she was still absolutely beautiful in his eyes. As her tears slowed Naminé looked up at him, and before Minato could resist the urge he kissed her.

Naminé's eyes widened in surprise before fluttering closed as she kissed him back. Minato's thoughts weren't on how Gaara was probably going to kill him in the next three seconds. They were focused solely on the beautiful girl in his arms who needed him right now. He was needed to lift her up from the ground. He was needed to show her the light. _He_ would be being the one to do these things, to bring her back from the edge. They broke apart when the lack of air simply became too much, and as he continued to hold her Naminé panted softly.

"Minato, my Dad's gonna kill you." She said nervously afraid to look behind her feeling her father's presence grow closer.

"I don't care, I've loved you ever since we were kids, and I needed to show you that, he can kill me as many times as he wants but I needed you to know."

"I've loved you for a long time too." All too soon the presence of the Kazekage was upon them, Minato looked up, and Naminé looked behind her.

"If you ever hurt my daughter, I'll make you wish you were dead. The only reason I'd ever spare you is because you are Naruto's son, understood?" The scared boy in him wanted to simply nod and run off with his tail between his legs, but the time for childish games had ended long ago. Minato looked Naminé's father in his eyes and knew he was completely serious.

"I understand completely, I would never intentionally hurt Naminé in anyway ever." He said offering the Kazekage his hand who gripped it firmly, too firmly…gods he was gonna break his hand!

"I expect you to keep your word on that." He said before walking back towards the Hokage's tower. Kankuro stood off to the side smirking before hurrying off after his younger brother.

"I'd have thought he'd be on your hit list Gaara." He said unable to keep the grin from his face.

"No, he makes Naminé happy, just like that miserable bird of hers…I'd never do anything to take away her happiness, even if it means letting her go…I'll do it." Kankuro hadn't expected this and when he caught a glimpse of Gaara's face he felt bad, he looked completely devastated.

"Gaara, are you alright?" he asked seriously. The two made eye contact before the red head looked away.

"I don't know…I'm going to the in-laws, Nia should be there already." With that The Kazekage vanished in a swirl of sand leaving the puppet master alone in the Konoha square.

O0o0o0o0

Minato was surprised, he had expected something far more violent or angry or threatening…

"I'm surprised he didn't kill me." He said simply as he sat in the tall oak tree with Naminé resting against him with her eyes closed, she'd been falling asleep.

"I'm pretty surprised too to be honest…do you think my dad's sick?" Naminé asked sleepily.

"No. I don't think he's sick…I think he's letting you go." The red head leaned back to look Minato in the eye.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it, you're his only child, his daughter to boot. Men are naturally extremely protective of their daughters and sisters and mothers…it's just what we do. Men assign themselves as the protectors, I'm Aya and Kazuki's protector…but Aya doesn't need me anymore, she has Asuma now, so I had to relinquish that role and give it to Asuma, I had to mentally let go. She needs me as a brother yes, but not as a protector anymore. Your dad's probably doing the same thing, he's your protector…but he's letting me take that role now or part of it. He'll still be your father though…I think he just needs some time to deal with that."

"Do you think he'll be ok?" Naminé asked sleepily snuggling back up to him again as the bluenette wrapped his arms around her.

"Yeah, your dad will be fine." In moments the red head had fallen asleep against him once again.

O0o0o0o0o0

"Gaara you are _not_ fine, what's wrong? I haven't seen you look this way in a very long time, you're worrying me." Nia said looking at her husband from across the table.

"Naminé's growing up." He said simply.

"Babe, she's sixteen, that's what teenagers do, they grow up."

"I know children grow…but she doesn't need me anymore."

"Gaara, she'll always need you, you're her father. She may not need you all the time now…but _we_ need you." She said with a smile placing her hand on his. He looked at her weirdly and blinked as what his wife said slowly digested into his thoughts.

"We?"

"That's right, we."

"So you came here early to see Tsunade because you're…"

"I wanted to be absolutely positive before I told you!" Nia said beaming.

"We're having another baby?" he breathed she nodded her head happily and immediately Gaara hugged his wife. They had tried time and time again to have another child, but after the unexpected complications received from the sudden injuries she obtained in her first pregnancy, it became very difficult for them to conceive once again. Gaara picked Nia up and spun her around as she laughed happily.

"We need to tell everyone! We're having another baby!" It took a lot to get her normally stoic husband this excited, but Nia didn't mind. Because it was such a rarity she cherished every moment where he happily spun her around and laughed cheering like a kid much like he was doing now.

"How far along are you? Do your parents know yet?" Gaara asked placing her back on her feet.

"Fourteen weeks, and nope, not yet I wanted you to be the first person I told, I'm more than three months along. Want to go tell them?" Nia said smiling.

"Tell us what?" Koori asked walking into the room holding a basket of herbs with her husband following close behind.

"Something very important we just learned of today." Nia said with a smile towards her husband as she looked at her aunt and uncle.

"Well what did you learn?" Kaji asked sitting down at the table with his wife following suit.

"We're having another baby." Gaara said with happiness dancing in his eyes. His in-laws looked surprised and looked to their niece for confirmation.

"I'm pregnant!" she said happily.

**This is the end of Chappy 17! As usual questions comments and the like you can ask through a review or through a PM. **


	19. Shocking Surprise

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 18

Shocking surprise

Hanabi had long since put her daughter down for a nap, and as she finished cleaning the kitchen she could hear a soft humming up the stairs. Drying the dish in her hand she placed it on the counter and followed the sound of the soft tune which led her to her daughter's room. Hanabi stood in the door way listening as the small child hummed the familiar tune and holding her brown bear tightly as she sniffled and rubbed her eyes.

"Baby what's wrong?" Hanabi asked walking into the room and kneeling next to her daughter.

"This song…I don't like this one…" the girl said softly. Hanabi wrapped the girl in her arms giving her a hug.

"That's because it's a song of parting from your Daddy's old village, they'd sing it whenever they had to leave for a very long time…Where'd you hear that?"

"A song…of parting? But I saw you again Mummy." Hanabi couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"That's because I never left."

"Daddy was singing the song."

"When?"

"In my dream…that's where I heard it." Hanabi was a bit concerned, her husband hadn't sung that song in a very long time, not since Aiko was a baby…was this some kind of omen? Or was it just a strange dream?

"What do you say about going to visit uncle Neji and aunt Tenny?"

"Yes!" the blue eyed girl said with a smile as she ran from the room. Hanabi followed but as she entered the hall her eyes lingered on a photo of she and Amon when they were younger, in their genin days before he left, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of nervousness…Just the other day he'd been sent on a mission with Shikamaru and a few others, but he'd come back, he always would. Hanabi gently placed a hand on her belly as she smiled softly…she'd tell him about the baby when he got back, after all she had nothing to worry about…right?

O0o0o0o0o0

Aya hadn't slept well and had nightmares all night long, nightmares of things going much farther than they did…Those dreams scared her, and after the fifth one, Aya decided it was just best not to sleep. She'd been awake since two in the morning. Every now and then she would be visited by her mother or her siblings during the day, and they tried so hard to make her feel better, but no matter how hard they tried, it just didn't work. Aya didn't want to be around them and their never ending sympathy. She didn't want their pity, she just wanted someone to understand. She'd never been so afraid in her life when Norio went after her like that…she just wanted someone to hold her and say that everything was going to be ok even if it wasn't physically said. That was why when yet again a knock came to her door she didn't bother to look up, but when the door opened that gained her immediate attention, especially when she saw who it was.

The blonde wasted no time as she scrambled from the bed throwing herself into her boyfriend's arms. Once his arms tightened around her she knew it would be ok and the blonde finally let go. She cried and cried and cried some more and he simply continued to hold her even as she dragged him to the floor after her legs gave out. Aya sat snuggled in Asuma's arms, and after crying for the better part of two hours and simply being held in his arms she actually felt much better. Once he had held her, she knew that no matter what happened as long as he was with her everything would be ok. Neither had said a single word to the other, once she rushed into his arms that had been it for her. Everything that needed to be said was in his embrace…

O0o0o0o0o0

"Minato, what should we do now?" Naminé asked as they still sat in the tree, the red head had fallen asleep against him for a good five hours.

"I don't know…why don't we go to your grandparent's house? Don't they always need help with something?" the bluenette asked stretching out his stiff muscles.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea, let's go!" The desert princess said jumping from the branch and landing in a crouch on the ground with Minato following close behind. He grabbed her hand lacing his fingers with hers smiling as he made the red head blush. They made their way down the winding path and eventually came upon the house her grandparents lived in. They walked up the walkway and entered just in time to see her family crowded around her mother all talking animatedly; as they made their way over they picked up bits and pieces of the conversation at hand until the room went silent. Nia turned to look behind her and smiled seeing her daughter and Minato.

"Naminé! Minato!" She said happily greeting each of them with a hug before pulling her daughter aside.

"I have big news Naminé!" Her mother was absolutely glowing with happiness.

"What is it? Did you get promoted at the hospital?"

"No, there's going to be a new addition to our family soon!" Naminé blinked in confusion.

"Yeah I know, Aunt Temtems is due any day now."

"That's not what I meant Naminé…You're going to have a little sibling."

"Aunt Temtems giving us her baby! ?" Now Nia sighed.

"Naminé, Temari's keeping her baby I'm-

"Is Uncle Kanky having a baby! ?"

"What! ?" The puppet master gasped coughing as he choked on his drink. Gaara made his way over to his wife and daughter.

"What your mother is trying to tell you Naminé is that _she_ is pregnant. _We're_ having another baby."

"What? But…but I'm the baby…"She said softly. Nia looked hurt, she thought her daughter would be happy.

"Naminé…don't…don't you want a little brother or sister?"

"Yeah when I was younger I did…but that was a long time ago. I thought you didn't want any more kids." She said looking from her mother to her father.

"We always wanted more children Naminé, but you know how hard it was for us to have another baby." Gaara said softly.

"Yeah I know, I thought you guys just stopped trying!"

"We did, we decided to just let happen what happens, and this happened and we're happy, you should be too." Nia said in a pleading voice.

"Why should I be happy? All you two are doing is replacing me now that I'm older!" Silence rang throughout the room at Naminé's words.

"Naminé we're not- we're not replacing you, we'd never do that you'll always be our daughter, you'll always be my baby." Nia said softly hurt lacing her voice at her daughter's accusation.

"Yeah, the daughter…"Naminé said softly. "I need to go take a walk." She said vanishing in a swirl of sand leaving Minato alone with her family.

"…Congratulations?"

O0o0o0o0

Asuma and Aya walked around Konoha, for he had finally gotten her out of the house. They were walking by one of Konoha's many lakes when a splash in the water drew their attention. Someone was tossing rocks making ripples on the lake's glass like exterior. As they made their way around the person tossing stones came into view.

"Naminé!" Aya said happily as she hurried over to her longtime friend. "I haven't seen you since- well in a long time." Aya said not wanting to bring up what had happened to the red head only a month ago. "How have you been recovering?"

"I've been better, have nightmares every now and then…Aya can I ask you a strange question?" the red head asked tossing another rock.

"Sure why not? What's up?"

"How…how did you feel when you learned your parents were having another baby?" Aya blinked and thought for a moment.

"That is a strange question…I guess I was excited, I mean I hated the idea at first I mean I was the baby and all and got most of the attention. I guess I was afraid that they'd forget about me…but as my mom got farther along, I got more excited because I realized that the baby would want and need my love just as much as my parents. Mom and Dad also made me feel really involved too, like setting up the nursery and picking names. But let me tell you, nothing changed my mind more than the day I felt Kazuki kick for the first time, then it was real, there was a real baby, not just some kind of weird alien thing growing inside my mom ya know? And when she was born and I got to hold her it was amazing. Then I got to watch her grow up and do so many things I taught her to do. Being a big sister is one of the things I take most pride in."

"Wow…I never thought of it that way…I just felt like they were replacing me…"

"Your parents are having another baby!?" the blonde asked in shock earning the red head's nod.

"Yeah…I mean I feel like such a brat for thinking like that but they were my mom and dad first…"

"Listen Naminé, there'll be times when the baby's new and it feels like your parents are completely revolving around it…and it's because they are… babies need loads of attention, but your parents will never love you any less. But when the baby learns to walk and talk and all they want is to be with you…it's amazing. I think you should be happy, don't resent the baby, it's not its fault that it's growing inside your mom."

"I know…my mom was so excited when she was trying to tell me…Oh Kami my mom! She's going to be so upset! I'm so stupid! Stress in her condition is a bad thing! Thanks Aya, Later!" Naminé said as the sand teleported her away leaving a small pile of stones she had yet to toss.

"Well that was interesting." Asuma said watching as Aya struggled to stand from where she had sat down next to the red head, wincing at the pain in her side.

"Yeah, I'm happy I got to help her…at least I hope I helped her." She said taking the hand Asuma offered her as he pulled her to her feet.

"You did, you made her see reason when she was scared and confused and you gave her the knowledge that she'll still be loved by her parents when the baby's here."

"I…I guess I did huh?" Asuma simply nodded as they once again continued walking through the forest.

O0o0o0o0

Talk about awkward…Minato stood quietly in Naminé's grandparent's house however instead of the jovial conversations that had been going on, there was nothing but stoic silence and soft whispers. Kankuro, Kaji, and, Koori talked quietly at the table while Gaara and Nia were up stairs. After her daughter had left Nia had burst into tears and ran up the stairs with her husband quickly trailing after her. It had been about an hour or so and neither had returned yet, not Naminé from where ever the hell she went, or her parents from upstairs. Just as Minato was getting ready to try and sneak away unnoticed, the door flew open and the red headed teen ran through the house and almost trampled him as she hurried up the stairs. Minato dodged out of the way just in time, but in the process of doing so the group at the table once again noticed his presence. Kankuro immediately grabbed him and pushed the bluenette into a chair in between him and Kaji, Naminé's grandfather. (Granduncle if one cares for technicality)

"So now that I've got you here for a bit…what are your intentions with my niece?" Kankuro asked seriously grilling the teen in front of him.

"Kankuro, I think that's _my _job." Kaji said pulling Minato's chair nearer to him. "The question still stands, what are your intentions with my Naminé?"

"No it's _my _job Kaji, she's _my_ niece." Kankuro said pulling the chair back over to him, Minato still sitting on it. The chair once again jerked to the right.

"Well I'm her grandfather, and she's _my_ granddaughter, I hold more authority so it's _my job._" The chair was pulled back and forth between the two as Koori simply smiled, her greying blonde hair in a braid that hung over her shoulder, her light blue eyes twinkling with mirth.

"So Minato, tell me what led you two to start dating?" the blonde asked. Instantaneously the chair tug of war stopped as the two men focused on Minato in the center who had opened his mouth to answer.

"We were always really good friends, and I've liked her for quite a while, so today I told her how I felt." Minato said simply.

"Was that before or after you kissed her right in front of us?" Kankuro asked with a grin as Kaji glowered at the teen next to him.

"He _kissed_ my granddaughter? ! How dare you steal her lipginity! Why didn't Gaara kill you?! I would have." The greying red head snapped giving Minato a death stare.

"Kaji enough!"

"Actually Naminé and I were kind of expecting some kind of explosion to occur after that too. I think it's because I faced him like a man should instead of just acting like a kid, I promised that I would never hurt Naminé, then shook his hand. After that he left."

"So…" Kankuro said once again pulling Minato's chair towards him. "It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you're Naruto's son?"

"That probably has an immense amount to do with it, but I'd like to believe it was because I manned up."

"Yeah keep thinking that." The puppeteer mumbled

"What?"

"Nothing."

O0o0o0o0

Naminé almost…almost being the key word here, felt bad for running her boyfriend over and unintentionally tossing him to the wolves so to speak by leaving him alone in the kitchen with her extremely protective uncle and grandfather, but hey he had to get to know them eventually right? With all the threatening talks about possible intentions and what will happen to him if he ever hurts her…all the usual stuff…He might as well get it over and done with. At least her grandmother was there to keep her Jii-san and uncle in line. Naminé made it up the stairs in record time only to find her father sitting outside the door and looking surprised to see her.

"Dad, what are you doing in the hall?"

"Your mom's upset and…*mumble*..."

"What?"

"She threw me out of the room. She wants to be alone right now Naminé, she's pretty upset."

"Fat chance that's happening dad." Naminé said knocking on the door.

"I said I don't want to talk about it Gaara!" Naminé shook her head and used her sand to unlock the door as she walked in and closed it behind her.

"You don't have to talk mom, just listen." Nia looked up in surprise to see her daughter standing before her. "I'm really sorry. I was jealous and selfish, and what I said wasn't true, I've always wanted a little sibling, and after I left to cool off, I realized that I was being a real big brat, and it was uncalled for. I'm happy. I'm happy for you, I'm happy for dad…I'm happy for all of us."

"You do know that we're not trying to replace you." Nia said softly watching as Naminé sat on the bed beside her.

"Of course I know that, I know you love me, and I'll always be yours and dad's baby, but I'm the first born so I have to set a good example for my little brother or sister. I'm sixteen, it's time I've grown up. I'll do everything I can to help you, and I'll protect my baby sibling with my life." Naminé said as she hugged her mother. "Now, I've got to go downstairs and rescue Minato before Jii-san and Uncle Kanky decide to kill him. Let dad in, he just wants to know that you're ok. I'll see you later Oka-Chan, I love you." The red head said giving her mom a kiss on the cheek as she vanished in a swirl of sand. Nia stood and walked over to the door and opened it smiling as Gaara looked up at her.

"Everything's going to be just fine." She said softly as her husband pulled her into a hug.

O0o0o0o0

"My niece!"

"My granddaughter!"

"My niece!"

"My granddaughter!"

Left right left right left right, Minato was going to be sick as the chair swayed back and forth. Suddenly arms wrapped around his neck and he watched as the room vanished as sand swirled around them. As the wall of sand slowly thinned they were in the forest.

"I thought I'd come rescue you." Naminé said with a smile.

"Thanks for that." Minato said rubbing his head ruefully.

"I talked with Aya-Chan after I left…she made me see reason, I was being really stupid and I know I hurt my parents' feelings…but I'm glad I made things right."

"Good, I'm glad too, and I'm glad you're glad. Want to go get some food? I'm pretty hungry."

"Sure, I'm starving, are you buying?"

"Well it's a date isn't it?"

"You sure Minato? Right now I could probably eat you out of house and home, I don't mind going half."

"I'm sure we'll be fine, what do you say about the Korean barbecue place?"

"Sounds perfect!" he put his arm around her shoulder as they walked from the forest.

O0o0o0o0

Work was exhausting! How could so many people get injured in one day? What was it run with something pointy day? Kazuki didn't know how many people lived in Konoha, but she was convinced that a good majority of the village's population was at the hospital right now. Because she was a student she was given four hour shifts once a day four times a week after school. She had just finished up at the hospital and was walking back to her house to get some training with her mom when she noticed two familiar figures walking down the road.

"NEE-Chan!" She ran down the road and completely ignoring her brother jumped on the red head beside him. "Naminé-Nee! Where have you been? I can't have R.H.A.A. meeting without you and uncle Gaara!"

"R.H.A.A.?" Minato asked looking curiously at both of them.

"Red heads are awesome Nii-san, duh….besides this is club member talk so stop listening in nosey!" The older boy simply raised his eyebrow.

"Ok, so I think that the next meeting should be….Minato I said stop listening!" Kazuki whispered the rest of the sentence into Naminé's ear.

"Ok, I'll be there and I'll bring dad too." Naminé said with a laugh.

"Good! I'll make cookies for the club members! See you tonight Nee-Chan!"

"Bye Kazu-Chan!" The red headed girl hurried off towards home while Naminé and Minato made their way towards the barbecue shop.

"You're actually going to go bring your dad and play with her?"

"Why are you so surprised? We do this every time were in Konoha. Dad gets cookies and I get to hang out with my little sister."

"Oh…just never knew about that is all."

O0o0o0o0

"Chocolate chips, butter, flour, vanilla extract, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs…? Are you having another club meeting Kazuki?" Hinata asked looking at the childish script on her shopping list.

"Yep! Naminé-nee is in Konoha and she said she'd bring uncle Gaara to the meeting too." Hinata laughed, Gaara really did love Kazuki's cookies.

"Ok, I'm going to get the shopping done, behave while I'm gone." Hinata said as she left the house. They always said that to the red head, 'behave while I'm gone', or 'be good' what did they think she'd do tear the house down? Start some kind of international crime ring? With a sigh she went to the living room and watched some T.V. Minato was out with Naminé, and Aya was out with Asuma so Kazuki had no one to bother. School was almost finished, all that was left for her was to take the written tests next week and the graduation test next month, and she had finished her rounds at the hospital already. What could she do for fun? She didn't feel like training or watching T.V. for that matter either. Shutting off the television she walked out of the living room and up to her bedroom, grabbing her old box of crayons she decided to color some pictures, she hadn't done that in a while…ever since she started the ninja academy in fact. As she brought the crayon to the paper on her coloring book, the red headed girl smiled.

**This is the end of chapter 18. Any questions comments and the usual can be asked through a review or a PM. Next chapter will be out soon!**


	20. With Life Comes Death

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 19

With Life Comes Death

She was going to kill him, it was that simple, he was the reason she was in such agonizing pain, _he did this to her._

"Give me my fan NOW!"

"Aunty Temtems you can't kill Uncle Shiky, you're in labor. You can do it after the baby's born, and after he gets back." Naminé said trying to soothe her irate and extremely hormonal aunt who was in full blown labor.

"I'm gonna kill him when I want to kill him and I'm killing him NOW!" She screamed. The famed shadow ninja was on a mission with several others when Temari's water broke, he was due back several days ago and had yet to return. Kankuro had gone with a squad to go out and bring him back hopefully in time to see the birth of his child. Nia and Sakura were in charge of the delivery, because Temari had been so insistent on waiting for her husband to return, she had actually dilated to 8 centimeters and was having contractions back to back before she called her sister-in-law's house to let them know the baby was on the way. It was too late to get to the hospital which was fine with the blonde she didn't want to deal with all the doctors and nurses anyways…stuck up know it all bastards.

"Ok Temmy, how are you feeling?" Nia asked checking on her sister-in-law.

"This hurts like a bitch! Oh Kami I think I have to push!" Hearing this Naminé, Nia, and Sakura immediately scrambled to where they needed to be.

"You think you have to or you have to?" Sakura asked wanting to be completely sure.

"I _HAVE_ TO YOU WALKING STICK OF BUBBLEGUM!" Sakura barely batted a lash as she once again checked her dilation.

"Oh yeah, you're ready now, the baby's crowning. Ok you're going to push for ten seconds with all you have, then take a small break, we'll keep repeating this till it's here, got it?"

"Whatever just get him the hell out of me!" Naminé held her aunt's hand as she began to push, had it not been for the sand armor she encased her hand with minutes prior she was sure the wind mistress would have broken it.

"Good, good, the head's out, keep pushing!"

"Well I'm not going to fucking stop now!" Temari screamed squeezing her niece's hand tightly.

"Shoulders are out, now I can grab him, Nia ready the water, I'm pulling him out." Sakura said as she pulled the baby free of the blonde's birth canal. "It's a boy!"

"Thank God that little bastard's finally out."

"Aunty!" Naminé said in shock staring at her aunt.

"He's mine I can call him whatever I want." The blonde said, exhaustion, evident in her voice as she watched Nia wash and clean her newborn son. "He didn't even cry…isn't he supposed to cry?"

Nia just smiled as she tied off the umbilical cord before cutting it.

"Temmy, I think he's too lazy to cry." She said handing the blonde her son who had been cleaned and wrapped in a fuzzy blanket and was looking around completely alert.

"Hey you…I'm your Momma." She said softly touching his hair which was a dark brown just like his father's. "I'll bet you're going to be just like your daddy, aren't you? I'll tell you now though, Daddy likes to push my buttons so when I try to kill him, I'm not really going to kill him, I'm just trying to maim him a little bit…If I did kill him we'd have no place to live!" Sakura face palmed, while Nia simply hid a laugh, Naminé was too shocked to respond to her aunt's statement.

"Ummm….right….So what are you gonna call him?" Naminé said trying to shift the completely awkward air from the room.

"Well Shikamaru was going to name him if the baby was a boy, and I was going to name the baby if it was a girl…so we'll have to wait until Shika comes back to see what my little man's name is." Temari said with a soft smile as she looked at her son. His resemblance to his father was uncanny, he would grow up to look just like him…kind of like a little Shika clone. The thought made her smile, but at the same time she was concerned…Where was her husband? He should have been home by now….

O0o0o0o0

Naminé waited by the gate the next afternoon waiting for her two uncles to return, she'd been there since she woke after promising her aunt that she'd look out for them. Hours passed until finally she saw the group on the horizon. Jumping up the red head bound over, but when she didn't see her uncle Shiky she looked over to Kankuro in confusion. He simply shook his head and looked away, and that's when she noticed the bloody headband in his hand. Naminé felt her blood run cold as she went wide eyed.

"No…Uncle Kanky no…" she said taking a step back and shaking her head.

"This was all we found."

"But- But he can't be dead! He was supposed to name him!" She cried with tears pouring from her eyes "He was supposed to name the baby!"

"I know…Naminé I know. You three, go report to the Hokage, Naminé go find your father, I'll tell Temari, this is gonna kill her." He said walking towards the Nara house. Naminé closed her eyes and concentrated on her sand until she felt the little bit that was stuck with her father's. She hadn't had to use that technique since she was a little girl, based on the direction he was at her grandparents. Immediately her sand wrapped around her teleporting her to the familiar house where she ran through the door not caring as it was left wide open.

"MOM! DAD!" she screamed running through the kitchen, she could hear commotion upstairs and ran up the steps two at a time. The door to the drying room opened and her mother was the first to step out.

"Naminé what's-

"Mom!" she cried hugging her mom tightly.

"What's happened?" Gaara asked also exiting the room.

"Uncle Kanky came back! Uncle Shiky's gone…All they found was his headband and there's blood all over it!" she said sobbing as she held her mother tightly as Nia and Gaara shared a shocked look at the news. "Daddy, they're going to tell Auntie, she won't be able to handle it! I know she's strong but this…this is going to kill her, we have to go to Auntie's right now!"

Gaara nodded and grabbing onto his wife and daughter they vanished, the sand bringing them outside of the Nara clan house where seconds later they heard a scream and the crashing sounds of chaos. Immediately the three ran into the compound. The sight they came to was one of absolute destruction, glass was shattered furniture was flipped and deep gouges were embedded in the walls. Temari had been on a rampage. As they ran closer and closer to the screaming the destruction only increased, and the sound of an infant wailing could be heard. Finally they made into the same room as Kankuro and Temari only to watch as she struggled against the shadow binding technique of a greying woman who slowly with tears in her eyes made her way over to the raging blonde who was holding back her sorrow.

"Temari." The woman Gaara recognized to be Shikamaru's mother Yoshino said placing her hand gently on the Suna woman's face. "Temari it's ok to cry."

"Stop it." She said gritting her teeth.

"It's ok to cry, just let it out." Yoshino said as she wrapped her arms around the new mother. "Just let it out, it's ok to cry it's _not_ your fault."

"No, stop it…"

"Temari just let it go you troublesome girl." At this the blonde broke, and as Yoshino released her of the shadow bind, her daughter-in-law dragged her to her knees as let out a heart breaking wail as she began to sob.

"Why! ? Why My Shika? ! He never even got to name the baby…he never even got to hold his son…" That was all they understood as she continued to cry her heart out.

O0o0o0o0

Naruto had never had such a heavy heart as he called his daughter and Asuma to his office. They were Shikamaru's only students, and they needed to know, Ino and Choji had just been informed. Asuma was the first to arrive, Aya minutes behind and panting slightly, her recent injuries still taking a toll on her. He waited until they were settled before he began speaking.

"I thought you two should be among the first to be informed…Nara Shikamaru has gone MIA on his last mission, a team had been sent out to locate him, however with what they brought back…We believe he has passed away."

"No…Dad that can't be…that can't be true!" Aya said her voice breaking.

"You're lying! It's not true, you're a damn liar! I'm not sticking around to listen to this bull." In a flash Asuma leapt from the window.

"Daddy, tell me it's not true…" Aya said softly looking to her father with pleading tear filled eyes. "Please tell me it's _not_ true."

"Aya I'm sorry. All they found were his headband and this." He said holding out the lighter which belonged to her sensei. Aya took it and held it tightly, her eyes burning.

"Do they know what happened?"

"No, we're still trying to find out, but apparently the scene wasn't pretty Aya." The blonde stood.

"I have to go find Asuma." She said quickly as she hurried from the room trying her best not to cry. Naruto watched as his child ran from the room, he had informed every one of what had happened, everyone but one person. Walking from his desk and telling his secretary to hold all meetings Naruto mapped out in his head exactly where he needed to go, first would be to Anko's house, the closest and have the dragon woman come along with him. Her support would be essential especially since her god child was involved. Then he would go to his home and collect Hinata, the one person who would probably manage to keep Hanabi from going absolutely crazy at this news. Then he would go to his sister-in-law's house and tell her that the chances are nine in ten that her husband would never come home again.

O0o0o0o0o0

Hanabi looked from Hinata to Naruto to Anko. Why were they all staring at her like that?

"Hanabi, can you sit down?" Hinata asked softly however Hanabi simply shook her head and backed away from the table of people, she was terrified but didn't know why, her heart raced and she had such an immense feeling of dread. She wanted to ask, but she feared the answer. She needed to know, her daughter had been asking for almost a week now. Hanabi swallowed thickly and looked to the blue eyed blonde.

"Naruto…where's my husband? Where's Amon? He should have been back last week…" the brunette said tentatively.

"Hanabi…" he started softly "The group was attacked…" She watched as his mouth moved saying words she simply could not accept and felt her heart shatter.

"I- I can't do this alone…not again…this baby's gonna kill me without him here." Hanabi said softly, she could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest, and suddenly her legs gave out and Hanabi collapsed to the floor her sister and sensei immediately rushing to her side to help her up as she began to sob.

"Hanabi, Hanabi! Look at me!" Hinata said hurriedly holding her sister's face in her hands. "Hanabi are you pregnant?" The brunette simply nodded through her tears.

"He didn't know…I-I just found out last w-week. If this baby's like Amon, I could die…Aiko can't control her Kekkai Genkai yet. I can't leave them Hinata, I can't let my babies be orphans." She sobbed holding tightly to her sister as Anko rubbed her back trying to soothe her student.

"They won't be, we'll get through this, I promise."

O0o0o0o0

He was lying, he had to be lying, Shikamaru wasn't dead he couldn't be, it was supposed to be an easy mission. He couldn't take it, he couldn't hear those words and immediately he ran off. Asuma couldn't remember what he had said to the Hokage, at that moment he'd felt his heart drop at the man's words he knew he needed to leave, so he ran. Everything he seen reminded him of his godfather, a restaurant they'd frequent, his favorite craft store that he'd order specially made shogi pieces from, the place where they had their first mission.

He ran from the village and even so there were still so many reminders of his godfather. The training grounds where he'd become a Genin, he raced through them, the clearing where Shikamaru taught him tree climbing, he'd passed it, even crossing the river where he'd learned to walk on water. Finally he found a place, a place only he and Aya shared. It was there he stopped and vented his frustrations on the practice log, and once he started hitting it, it, was as if a dam broke and he couldn't stop as he continued to strike the log with ever increasing anger. It was at that point he thanked the gods that he hadn't come across Norio in this short time frame because if he had, with what he wanted to do to him along with all the anger he was feeling now, the black haired teen knew he would have ended up killing the brunette. As he continued striking the log he could feel his anger slowly ebbing away, though that gaping feeling of loss and anguish remained tearing at his soul and ripping his heart to shreds.

O0o0o0

Aya couldn't believe it, her sensei couldn't be dead! Something may have happened to him and the group but there was no way he was dead. Aya hurried towards the forest and found Asuma exactly where she expected him to be as he angrily hit the old tree trunk they used to practice on.

"Asuma?" The red eyed teen hadn't even heard her as he continued hitting the log trying so hard not to break as the anger once so strong had turned to complete despair.

'He's not gone, he's not gone, he's not gone, he _can't be gone.'_ Then he felt a pair of arms wrap around him holding his own down and stopping him from his assault on the log, anger was what he'd wanted, he could deal with anger, rage, and fury. He couldn't handle this heart break, not this aching misery that was surely going to kill him, then he heard her voice, saying words that broke him.

"It's ok to let your hurt out Asuma, it doesn't make you weak…it makes you human." Aya said softly feeling as his shoulders began to shake as he let out quivering breath. Aya slowly released him figuring he'd want to be alone, so she was quite surprised when he turned to face the blonde and hugged her once again as he buried his head in the crook of her neck. Aya's heart swelled in sadness as he held tighter to her.

"I know it hurts now…but we'll get through this Asuma, we will." Aya said softly rubbing his head, feeling hot tears soak through the material of her shirt as she to cried.

"He's gone." Asuma whispered and with those two simple words he was lost as anguish overwhelmed him.

O0o0o0o0

Three days later the Nara clan house had been returned to its former glory, it had been three days since Temari received the news of her husband, and three days since she's seen her son who still remained nameless. Gaara and Kankuro sat with Temari in her room as she lay in bed crying silent tears not talking to either of her younger siblings. The door to the room opened once again and Temari continued to stare at the wall.

"Temari you can't just lie in bed for the rest of your life. No matter how badly it hurts you can't just sink away and forget your responsibilities, you're a Nara, you know it's not our way to do things like this." Yoshino said to her daughter-in-law.

"I'm NOT a Nara anymore Yoshino…that part of me is dead…it's not here anymore."

"No you foolish girl, that part of you is right here. It's in your son, my grandson. Look at him and you'll see it." The older woman said offering the child to Temari.

"No, get him away from me. All he does is remind me of Shika! All he does is remind me of what's no longer here! I _don't_ want him! I want _nothing_ to do with him!" Hearing this both her brothers and mother-in-law were stunned.

"Temari you don't mean that." Gaara said softly taking his sister's hand.

"Yes I do." She said firmly. "He's staying here, and I'm going back to Suna." As if he understood the infant began to wail for the first time in three days.

"Do you think you can just leave and forget all of what's happened? Forget your marriage, your life, my son, _your_ son!?" Yoshino said in outrage.

"If it makes this pain stop then yes, that's exactly what I'll do." Temari said in a flat voice trying to ignore the child's cries that wrenched at her heart making it ache.

"I had you down as a lot of things Temari, but a coward was never one of them." Yoshino said angrily as she placed the infant in her arms. "Now take care of your son." She said storming from the room.

"I SAID I DON'T WANT IT!" Temari screamed after her only making the baby cry louder. "And look at _you._ You're more like your father every time I see you! You're a crybaby just l-like he w-was, just the world's biggest crybaby." Temari said holding onto the infant tightly as she cried and ran her fingers through his dark wisps of hair. "Fine…fine I'll take care of you, but don't do what your daddy did…don't go break a lonely girl's heart…Don't go and make her the happiest person on the planet and crush her heart…" Temari said softly shushing the infant who grew silent in her arms.

**Tis sad face chapter, very emotional I think…and don't kill me…are those pitchforks? Hey, stop it! ! ! ! Questions comments reviews post them, pm me and I'll respond to you asap!**

**Next chapter will be posted soon, Later! (next chapters are not filled with happy faces, just as a fair warning)**


	21. Valentines Day Omake

Dangerous Lives

Valentine's day

Asuma was gone, away on a mission and Aya sighed in annoyance, it was Valentine's day. Her first Valentine's day while dating someone and she was spending it alone. Granted she could ask her dad for a mission, but it would be her luck that while she was being sent out, Asuma would be coming back and any possible chance of anything would be blown to bits. So she flopped around the house, lounging in her room, lying on the stairs, sitting upside down on the couch with her feet at the top and her head near the floor, this was how her little sister found her.

"Uhh, Aya what cha doing?"

"Waiting." The blonde said simply with half a shrug.

"For…?" the red head pressed watching as her sister's face grew pink from being upside down so long.

"Well Asuma should be back today or tomorrow and I'm really hoping he'll be back today, it's Valentine's day."

"Oh I see… so why are you upside down?"

"Why aren't you?" the blonde countered making the ten year old laugh.

"I have to finish making my Valentine's, when I'm done I'll come sit upside down with you if you haven't passed out ok?"

"All right, later Kazu." Aya watched her sister make her way up the stairs and sighed wondering where Asuma was.

O0o0o0o0

You know for February the desert was still really freekin hot, and as he made his way towards the hidden sand village Minato wondered if they would even have flowers. He'd wanted to bring Naminé flowers but thought about it and realized that if he'd brought them from Konoha they would be a wilted heap before he even got there. The sight of the gates of Suna was a relief and as he hurried through them nodding to the guards who had recognized him Minato wondered just where he would find Naminé.

Making his way through the plaza he'd found a place selling flowers, and they were crazy expensive, with a sigh he spent a good majority of his money and bought the red head roses that had been sent in from Konoha, he'd recognized the Yamanaka crest on the side of the boxes and knew that they'd last for quite a while. Finally he made his way to Naminé's house.

O0o0o0

"So you haven't tainted this holiday for my dad right? There's no ghost hauntings, no offerings of any sort it's just a normal Valentine's Day correct?" Naminé asked her uncle down in his shop.

"Yep, well after the whole Christmas thing your mom threatened me with painful senbon death if I messed up any more holidays like that."

"You know I really don't blame her. But I'll leave you be, mom wants to decorate a bit and we all know how that goes."

"Yeah there'll be red Christmas lights everywhere and hearts on the walls and ceiling…"

"I need to put a halt on at least a bit of her creativity, baking yes, decorating my room pink, oh god no." with that Naminé hurried up the stairs in search of her mother. She found the brunette stringing up red lights just as her uncle said and could smell something baking in the oven, already there were multitudes of valentines baked goods, everything ranging from cookies to cakes to chocolates, all made by her mom. Reaching over the red head grabbed a cookie 100% sure of her plan, this would so make her mother stop decorating.

"Hey mom can you teach me how to bake something?" Naminé was steeling herself, she was not a wiz in the kitchen, cooking normal food she was passable, baking she may as well just substitute sugar for arsenic and put the tasters of her food out of their misery now. Nia turned beaming at her daughter.

"Oh baby! What do you want to bake?" Naminé was already regretting these words, it was the most pain in the butt recipe she knew and took forever…

"Four layer valentines cake." Hearing this and knowing her daughter's history of baking Nia's smile fell just a little bit.

"Don't you want to try something just a tad easier hun? Like cupcakes?"

"No, it has to be this cake. I want to…send Minato something for valentines day!" yes, she'd pin it on him, hell he was in Konoha and she would mail the damn cake to prove a point if she had to.

"Are you sure? It's a tough cake to make Naminé and you're so….baking challenged." Her mom said trying desperately to soften the blow, Naminé didn't care it was nothing she didn't already know.

"I know, but I really really want to make this one, _please?"_ she said pouting and giving her mom a pleading look. Finally Nia gave in with a sigh.

"Ok, go grab a few bowls and get an apron…this…you're gonna get messy."

O0o0o0

Everywhere Aya looked there were couples people walking hand in hand couples out getting food, it was starting to get late she even watched as a young man proposed to his girlfriend at the park and the sight made her melt. She really missed Asuma right now and knew that at the sight he would have squeezed her hand and pulled her close so they could continue on doing whatever they had at that point been up to. He was just nowhere to be seen, and was still on his mission.

With a sigh Aya walked over and sat on the swing at the park slowly going back and forth and staring at the ground when suddenly a sound in the bushes caught her attention. Turning she looked, but seeing nothing she waited wondering if it would move again.

"What're you looking at?"

"The bushes." Aya then suddenly realized that someone had spoken to her and turning she was covered in red glitter and confetti as a valentine was held out for her. With a smile Aya took the red construction paper heart from her sister.

"Thank you Kazu, it's beautiful."

"Open it." The red head urged. Placating her sister Aya opened it and inside said :_Happy valentines day to the best big sister ever._

Reaching over the blonde pulled her sister into a hug.

"Thank you, I love it."

"Good because that took me forever." The red head said as she sat on the swing next to her sister. "Are you done being gloomy?"

"Maybe." The blonde said with a grin

"Aya."

"Fine, yes I'm done being gloomy."

"Why were you gloomy?" another voice asked, and the moment it did Aya's swing bumped into someone behind her. Turning the blonde beamed when she was met with red eyes and a devilish grin belonging to her boyfriend.

"Asuma!"

"You really don't think I'd miss valentines day do you?" he said wrapping his arms around the blonde and kissing her making the red headed girl gag very loudly before announcing her return to the house making the two teens laugh as Aya stood from the swing hugging Asuma tightly.

"Come on, let's go get dinner." He said taking her hand and leading the blonde into the village.

"But I'm covered in red glitter and confetti…"

"And you still look beautiful, let's go." He said smirking at Aya who grinned back holding his hand tightly as they made their way towards their destination.

O0o0o0o0

It was done, the cake was made layered and frosted, and it looked beautiful…but looks could be so deceptive. Naminé had made far too much cake batter and not being one to needlessly dump food Nia had made a second cake and stared at it nervously. Naminé stood looking proudly at the cake, it was beautiful and not on fire that was a pass in her book. At some point, the red head had actually gotten into baking the cake and was now eagerly staring at her mother pushing her to try it. Nia, with her hand on her belly was truly conflicted and feared hurting not only her daughter's self confidence, but harming her unborn child by eating the cake.

"So you will try it right?" Naminé asked cutting a large slice and handing it to her mom who accepted it warily.

"Of course I will baby it looks amazing…" just as she was about to bring the fork to the cake the door opened and she almost wanted to cry because she was saved. Quickly walking over she handed the slice of cake to Gaara knowing his sweet tooth and his ability to never disappoint his daughter.

"Gaara Naminé made a cake today, try it." Immediately the red head looked at his daughter who was waiting for his response to the cake.

"It looks good…"

"Will everyone stop saying that and just eat it jeeze!" Naminé snapped cutting herself a piece, though even she stared warily at her own slice of the cake she made. It did look amazing, each slice was a different color, the bottom being red, and the next slice up was progressively lighter until the top slice which was a very light pink, the frosting was very similar as well going from red on the bottom to pink on top.

Deciding to be brave Gaara lifted the fork but before he too could cut into the cake a knock came to the door and immediately he stopped and walked over opening it. He was surprised to see the bluenette standing at the door and knew he had a way out.

"Minato come in, Naminé made a valentine's day cake, have a piece." He said handing the plate to the teen who simply blinked. It was not every day that the scary father of the girl he liked gave him a slice of cake.

"Oh wow this looks awesome!" not knowing of Naminé's disastrous baking history Minato grabbed the fork and took a bite of the cake not noticing as Naminé's parents cringed. "Dude this is delicious!"

"WHAT!?" Gaara snatched Minato's plate away and took a bite of the cake.

"But that's my cake…" Minato said oh so confused.

"He's right it _is_ good." Gaara said with wide eyes to his wife.

"No way!" Nis took the plate from her husband and took a bite. "Naminé you made something edible! Oh my goodness I'm so proud of you!"

"Wow…"the red head said shaking her head. Taking a bite of her own slice she smiled, it was good, at least this time she knew that Tbs meant table spoon and not three big scoops, oh her last confection had been so salty… with a smile she handed her plate to Minato who looked dismayed that her parents had stolen his cake from him.

"Happy valentines day." She said softly smiling at him. In return he handed her flowers.

"I got you these, they're still not dead so that works right?" hearing this Naminé laughed.

"Yeah it works, thank you they're beautiful." Leaning over Naminé gave the bluenette a kiss, and once she put the flowers in a vase and walked over to get another slice of cake, she led Minato to the living room to watch a movie, today was a good day.

O0o0o0

The dinner was lovely and Aya honestly wondered what else he had planned, there was that mischievous glint in his eye though she knew that he wouldn't tell her what was going on. After the meal he dragged her to the movies, another scary movie and she immediately caught on grinning at him. He'd chosen the 3D viewing of My Bloody Valentine, and Aya knew they were going to have a blast, however before they went inside the theater Asuma stopped her and pulled a box from his pocket.

"I know how much you like shiny things." He said simply handing it to her and with a nod at the truth of his words and a smile Aya opened it to find a silver necklace with a purple crystal. "I know it's not much-

"I love it. Asuma you knew I'd love it, and you know how much I love things like this it's beautiful. Thank you."

"You really do like it?" honestly he'd sounded surprised as he watched Aya pull the necklace from the box and put it on.

"How could I not? I'm so happy." She said with a beaming smile making the red eyed teen smile too.

"Good, I'm glad you like it. So are you ready to go scare the pants off some people?"

"You'd better believe it!" with that hand in hand Asuma and Aya went off to be public menaces for the night thoroughly enjoying their valentines day.

**Happy valentines day! I decided to put this up instead of chapter 20 which I really don't want to put up because a whole bunch of terrible things happen for no reason other than to progress the plotline of my story….but anyways I have up to chapter 31 done so when I do post chapter 20 tomorrow please don't hate me for it.**


	22. Danger in the Woods

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 20

Danger in the woods

**AN: *Warning* This chapter contains acts of a violent sexual nature. If you wish to skip said scene the first and last words will be typed in bold so you know where to go to.**

The memorial/funeral service took place three days later, all that was there was, was a photo for each one of the four Konoha ninja. The only two that stood out to the blonde were the photo of her uncle with Hanabi and Aiko, and another photo of Shikamaru with Temari who had been seven months pregnant at the time. Aya had walked up to the photos holding the white roses and placed one in front of each photo, her siblings and parents already having done the same. Her eyes were burning and her heart was broken as she watched Temari hold their son and cry as she stared at a picture of Shikamaru in her hands. Aya walked over to her fellow blonde and hugged her giving the new mother her condolences, immediately she made her way over to her aunt who held her daughter tightly in her arms and hugged them tightly. Aya watched as Asuma did the same, for once his unruly hair was brushed back as he tried to look presentable, had it not been such a serious situation the blonde would have simply messed his hair back to normal. He walked over and placed the rose in front of the same picture of Shikamaru as Aya, then he made his way over to Temari as well.

"You know…when we move back to Konoha…when he's older. I want you to be his sensei Asuma, Shikamaru loved you he really did, and I love you too. I know this is just as hard on you as it is for me." Temari said quietly as she hugged the teen with her free hand.

"Does he have a name yet?" Asuma asked looking at the child that resembled his sensei so.

"Yeah, I remember a few months ago when we were talking about names…he brought up the name Yahiko time and time again…every time I shot it down and he'd always get bummed out. But I think it's the perfect name for him." Asuma nodded, it was a good name.

"I look forward to teaching him then. Travel safely with my future student." He said with a smile.

"I will, I'll be back in a year or two…I just need to be with my family right now." Asuma nodded and after another hug he made his way back to his seat, taking notice of Aya's absence as his red eyes scanned the crowd.

O0o0o0o0

They had just had the service for Shikamaru and her uncle...Aya couldn't stay for the whole thing, it was killing her inside watching as Temari held her son and cried over the photo of her sensei and Hanabi cried while explaining to Aiko that her daddy wasn't coming home. She just couldn't do it she couldn't watch anymore and snuck away soon after paying her respects unable to hold back her tears. Aya walked through a familiar patch of forest that she and Asuma often frequented, it was deep in the woods and secluded, not many people knew about it, it was their hideaway and had been since they were kids...Suddenly the blonde felt on edge as she paused and listened to the forest, it was unusually quiet as she wiped away her tears, her body tensing slightly.

'What happened to the birds?' Aya thought as she made her way towards that patch of woods when suddenly Asuma dropped down in front of her. Aya jumped gasping as she held her chest in shock.

"Asuma you scared the hell out of me." She said letting out a shaky breath.

"Sorry." He said running his hand through his messy hair. Aya looked at him weirdly something seemed off about her boyfriend, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm better now that I found you." He said walking over and wrapping his arms around the blonde. Aya settled into his embrace, though not completely...Asuma just seemed different to her and it bothered her a lot that she couldn't place what it was. His hands which had once rested on her hips made their way down the blonde's legs and began lifting up her skirt, and immediately Aya pushed him away in shock.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she asked looking into his eyes and taking a step back.

"Come on, at least this will get our minds off of Sensei for a bit." He said pulling her close once again. Aya looked at him incredulously.

"What is wrong with you? There's no chance in hell I'd ever do this in the woods, and with how you're acting you'd be lucky to ever get any again! You're acting like nothing's wrong! You're acting like _our_ Sensei meant nothing to you! That those people meant nothing to you! He was your Godfather and that was my Uncle and those were our comrades! The least you can do is show some respect today of all days Asuma. What's gotten into you?" She asked sadly looking into his red eyes with her own teary lavender ones streaming. She didn't understand, usually she could read him like a book because of how expressive his eyes were, but now his eyes were flat and expressionless which struck her as odd adding more unease.

"I'm sorry." He said once again as he leaned down kissing her, however using her hand Aya stopped him.

"You sure don't seem sorry." She said softly as she pushed herself free from his embrace. "I'm going home. You seem really different than you were a few hours ago. I don't know if its shock or grief, but I think this is something you need to deal with yourself, especially since right now you only view me as a sexual distraction from your pain. I'm very hurt and very disappointed with you Asuma...I thought I meant more to you than that." Aya said turning and walking away as she blinked back more tears.

Asuma growled grabbing at the blonde and catching her forearm he yanked her close snaking his arm around her as she stumbled back towards him.

"What are you doing?! Let go of me!" Aya demanded. Pushing him back forcefully as once again she tried to storm off. The blonde had made it into a small clearing a few feet away before she was pinned against a tree as her eyes widened in shock.

"Asuma stop it, you're scaring me." Aya said nervously looking up at him as she shrank back against the tree. Something was wrong with him, something was very wrong with him, that look in his eyes made her feel sick as he lowered his head kissing her once again. It felt wrong, everything about that kiss felt so wrong, breaking it Aya ducked under his arm and sprinted away only to start kicking wildly and screaming as he grabbed her around the waist and slammed her face down on the forest floor, knocking her breath from her with the impact.

O0o0o0

Minato fidgeted in his seat picking at a non-existent spot on his sleeve, it wasn't like his sister at all to up and vanish in a time like this, sure she'd gone off to collect herself but how long did that take?

"Minato stop fidgeting, you're kicking my chair." Hinata said softly. The bluenette nodded scanning the area for the familiar flash of blonde, and bowing his head he discretely activated his Byakugan looking farther for her. Still she was nowhere to be found, his eyes stopped on Naminé who cried silent tears holding her parent's hands tightly as they sat with her uncle and Temari. He continued searching and paused at Asuma who was also looking around, was he looking for Aya as well? She'd been gone for almost a half hour now. Deactivating his bloodline limit Minato turned to his mother.

"I'm going to see how Asuma's doing." Hinata nodded and Minato made his way over to the black haired teenager sitting down next to him.

"You see Aya lately?" Asuma asked the moment Minato sat down.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Minato said quietly.

"I think we should look for her, most of the village is here and if she gets hurt with her stitches it would take a while for someone to find her." Asuma said softly spotting Norio several rows behind him and four seats to the left next to his parents. At least he didn't have to worry about him…bastard…

"There's around another hour to the service."

"I know but I don't think I can wait much longer, I'm worried for her."

"We'll give her five more minutes to show up ok? If she's not here by then we'll go find her ourselves." Minato said in a matter of fact voice.

"Alright."

O0o0o0

**Her mind seemed to be frozen**, it was clouded with fear and pain, it had never hurt this bad when she and Asuma had had sex before not even during her first time, and he'd made it as painless as he could for her the first time. The second time and the several after that they had been pretty rough with each other…but now, every thrust no matter how hard or fast or slow for that matter sent staggering pain shooting through her body, and every time she cried out his only response was to go harder and faster making her pain worse as he pushed her face into the dirt while she continued to cry. Aya just couldn't understand, she couldn't comprehend how or why he was doing this to her, how he could even hurt her like this. What had she done wrong? What had she done to deserve _this_ of all things? What did she do?

It was all Aya could do, focus on the pain which only continued to increase, there were times where it was just too much and Aya couldn't hold in her screams, especially when one of her stitches tore through when he grabbed her waist. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the pain wrenching at her heart, he might as well kill her when he's done, because no longer did she even want to live in this world, the pain only increased when he turned her over on her back to face him. Again and again her sobs echoed through the forest and gasps of pain could be heard as she cried her heart out. Aya tried pushing him away only for her hands to be grabbed and pinned next to her head. He watched as slowly her streaming lavender eyes dulled as the blonde seemed to withdraw into herself. It was as if he was watching her die from the inside out.

After a minute or so without so much as a sound from Aya, a hand she used to push Asuma away was released as the boy grabbed her hip pulling her downward as he buried himself as deep as he could, his fingers digging into her wound. Immediately her eyes lit up radiating immense pain and anguish as she once again clenched them shut as she sobbed. She couldn't bring herself to raise a hand against him, she couldn't bring herself to hurt him even as he caused her such pain, there had to be a reason, there _had_ to be a reason for what was happening, and as much as she wanted to believe it her thoughts couldn't help but wander as she grimaced in pain.

'He said he loved me...he said he loved me and this is what he does...Asuma why? Why? I don't understand why.' It made no sense to the blonde who clenched her streaming eyes shut tightly with pain, he had always been so sweet and kind and considerate, never forcing her into a single thing she didn't want to, or was not comfortable doing...why was he hurting her like this? Why?

'What happened to you Asuma? Finally…finally it's over, it's over. Thank the gods it's over.' Asuma stood looking pleased with what he had done, grabbing his pants he pulled them up, zipping them and gaining Aya's attention, she continued let out shuddering gasps as she panted heavily pulling her underwear back up her legs and her skirt down to cover herself feeling nothing but agonizing pain and heart break at this enormous betrayal as her body ached.

"**You see it didn't have to be like that**, it happened that way because you were stubborn." He said crouching down and tilting Aya's chin up so she was forced to look him in the eyes, immediately her lavender orbs widened she felt her racing heart stop.

His eyes were changing color, from red slowly to gray.

Aya continued to stare at him and was slowly pulling herself off the ground trembling as her mind raced with this new information. It wasn't Asuma, it wasn't him, he didn't do this to her, never had she felt more relieved, more afraid, and more angry. What would he do to her if help came right now? Honestly Aya didn't know if she had the energy to call for help or make any kind of noise, she knew she had to find help at some point, she was bleeding a lot, her bandaged side was burning and she could feel the blood seeping through against her hand…that wasn't the only place she was bleeding, she saw and felt blood smeared on the inside of her thighs. That was another thing she noticed, he even felt different inside her too, now she knew why.

Slowly she made it to her knees as her hand touched a large rock in the underbrush which she discretely grabbed. Holding it against her leg she made her way to her feet. 'Asuma' who had walked away from her stopped and turned back towards her. Aya's heart began racing in terror, he was coming back, had he not finished? Was he going to do this torture all over again? At the thought of that her heart wrenched and just as he grabbed her arm Aya caught a flash of metal from his Kunai in his other hand, the sight made her flinch and quickly she swung her arm as hard as she could. Aya hit him in the face with the rock and watched as he stumbled back falling to the ground and dropping the kunai in shock. Wiping the blood from her side onto her hand Aya quickly preformed several hand signs and slammed her palm to the ground watching as a small white and orange toad appeared before her. She scooped it up and took off sprinting away as fast as she could, she felt no pity it may have looked like Asuma, but that was not him.

"Neh, Aya-Chan what's the big deal, we goin' on a picnic in-" Aya covered the toad's mouth and ducked behind a tree looking around nervously.

"Gamata-Chan, I need you to go get my dad, this is really important, like life or death important, _please."_ She whispered urgently watching as the toad nodded with a serious look taking in her disheveled appearance and vanished from her hands. She could do this, it wasn't Asuma so now she wasn't afraid to hurt him if need be, all she had to do was wait until her father got here, she just hoped he did so quickly. Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps Aya took off as quietly as she could.

O0o0o0

Asuma stared ahead waiting, it had been a grand total of 280 seconds, four minutes and forty seconds, and as he continued counting in his head Minato was restlessly sitting beside him, twenty more seconds wouldn't kill him, at least that's what he was trying to convince himself. Both immediately noticed as a small white and orange toad appeared on Naruto's shoulder. He watched as the blonde tensed and in a flash of yellow vanished from the ceremony. Quickly Asuma and Minato shared a glance.

"Let's go, track your father."

"Already on it." Together they hurried from the ceremony as Minato used his Byakugan to track his father, he was heading towards the woods, and after relaying this information to Asuma they quickly bound into the forest.

O0o0o0

It hurt, her body hurt, her heart hurt, everything hurt as she stumbled along the forest holding her side which had now saturated her shirt and skirt with blood and was dripping down her leg. Aya was getting light headed and stumbled trying to right herself after another blow, she heard the snap of a twig close behind her as her feet were knocked from under her. Once again she was pinned to the ground, only this time by her throat which was being squeezed tightly. She could see black spots as they slowly bloomed clouding her vision, and just before it became too much, just before she passed out he released her neck allowing the blonde to take large lungfuls of air. She could hear the man laughing and knew he was enjoying this, then suddenly he spoke.

"This is such fun, I've been watching you for quite a while now, and I know you better than you'd think. Months ago, I was assigned to kill you, you see? But I watched you, I watched who you were around, I even watched your friends to pick up their traits and habits just for this moment. My name is Kyofu, and I am the fear you feel right now. You beautiful and delicious girl, were supposed to be dead and buried months ago, killed in your sleep or slain on a mission, but I watched you. It's accurately said that you do the best in all you do and I felt I should reciprocate." He said running his fingertips along the new bruises on her neck watching as her pupils dilated in fear. "Why should you have a simple average death which is the mere simplest of my skills? No, you deserve better than that, I have been plotting your death for months now and even so we're only in phase three of my plans!" he said excitedly with a maniacal laugh.

"Have you not wondered why it seemed that death and pain was following you and your family? It's because it is! The man after your sister? A rouse to test you reaction to familial danger, you being the elder sister raced to her defense and even after raced to see if she was safe from harm. Your brother's abduction and torture? All a plot by my master, though that had failed for he was meant to die by Itami's hands, it all fell into my hands and worked perfectly in manipulating my plan! Remember the attack on your mission to rescue the daimyo's daughter, where you were ambushed? The entire mission was all my doing! And that boy that attacked you in the hospital? He was a great choice and so easily manipulated for my devices, it didn't take much for him to take action, nor did it take much to convince him to pay you a visit. And as I watched, the pure fear you had exuded from his presence alone was mind-blowingly beautiful! It fueled my desire for you, the girl whom most claim to be unshakable and fearless, I wanted to experience it firsthand, to taste the fear in your tears, to breathe it in as you writhed and screamed at my touch and it was all that I had imagined and more!" Kyofu said, his eyes alight with ecstatic triumph.

"I enjoyed it far too much, so much so in fact that I've decided to let you live for the time being, I'll not kill you today but let you live and let fear rule your life until the day we meet again." He said hefting the girl to her feet and holding her hands tightly behind her back as he pressed his lips firmly against hers once again. Trying to turn her head the blonde whimpered as he held her firmly in place. He was still in the form of Asuma and that thought more than anything terrified and disgusted her.

"The deal's been sealed. Until next time, that day your life is mine." He said with a smile that had Aya's heart racing in terror as he shoved the blonde, and tripping she screamed tumbling backwards down the hill, rolling until she was caught and held tightly. Her eyes clenched shut in fear as she felt a hand on her face as whoever caught her tilted her face to look at them. Aya could imagine the hits that were to come, the pain that was soon going to be inflicted on her battered body once again, however fear of what would happen soon vanished when the person who held her tightly spoke.

"Aya, Aya look at me! What happened to you?! You're covered in blood!" Immediately she recognized her dad's voice as they landed in a small stream down the hill completely silent, her head was throbbing now and looked weakly up and saw her father's worried face looking at her.

"Dad." She breathed feeling nothing but relief, that was until she glanced to the top of the hill and saw 'Asuma' look down at her. Immediately Aya's eyes widened as she held onto her father's shirt in a death grip as she began to shake in pure fear. Naruto looked up catching sight of the boy on the top of the hill.

"Dad, that's not Asuma it's not him, it's a transformation jutsu. He did all of this to me."

"Don't move." Naruto said softly placing the girl down on a large flat dry rock in the middle of the stream before springing after the illusioned individual who upon seeing the Hokage sprinted away. Aya's world soon started spinning as she slipped on the slick rock and collapsed into the river, the impact knocking her breath away as her body blazed with pain. She watched as the water began to cloud pink with her blood. Immediately at the sight of the reddening water Aya began to hyperventilate, as pain once again coursed through her body when she tried to move to keep herself from falling in farther and soon after her world went dark.

O0o0o0o0

Minato walked through the forest with Asuma, both had seen Aya sneak off after paying her respects to her sensei's belongings, and both were worried about her, that worry increased even more so when they watched a toad appear on Naruto's shoulder and the blonde suddenly vanish in a flash of yellow. After this the two teens immediately went looking for the blonde Uzumaki girl.

"Minato you see her yet?" Asuma asked as the boy activated his Byakugan.

"No...but...there's a large disturbed patch over here." Minato said walking to where he saw the area. Asuma looked around the area suspiciously.

"Minato how far can you see without hurting yourself?" he said looking around the area noting scuff marks and scrapes in the dirt.

"A mile and a half or so, why?"

"Because something happened here, the disrupted soil is fresh and I think I smell blood...It could just be a wounded animal but I want to make sure." Minato nodded and once again activated his Byakugan.

"I don't see anything yet but...wait a second...I can see something...There's a stream right at the edge of my vision, it's tinted with blood…" Minato said taking note of the tiny bits of chakra in the blood as it went down stream. Then he paused with wide eyes and Asuma looked at him strangely. "Holy…shit…"

"What is it?"

"Dad's beating the hell outta some guy." Minato said taking a few steps towards the direction of the fight.

"That's where we're going then. Lead the way." Asuma said quickly, Minato nodded but paused.

"You head towards the stream and see what's bleeding into it the fight's moving fast, I'll ambush the guy he just ran off." Minato said taking off in one direction and watching as Asuma hurried along towards the stream. He made it there in minutes, and he crouched down looking at the moving water.

"Whatever's bleeding into the water is up stream, it can't be too far." He hurried along the bank of the stream and immediately sped up at the sight of the collapsed blonde who'd fallen almost all the way into the water. What happened? Was she attacked? Did she hurt herself by accident? As he headed up the stream it grew a darker red until finally he came upon the blonde who lay silently. Asuma put on a burst of speed and grabbed her bringing her onto the dry land. He checked on her stitches and swore taking off his shirt, and leaving him in his tank top and folding it to use as a bandage and lifting the blonde's shirt up so he could stop the bleeding, there wasn't a lot of blood but it was certainly enough to make him worry. The black haired teen checked her pulse, and it was strong which to him was good at the current moment. He checked her for any other injuries, and absolutely flipped his lid when he found the blood on her inner thighs and the bruises on her neck and arms Asuma was ready to kill whoever did this to his girlfriend.

He lifted Aya into his arms and followed the direction Minato had gone as he hurried through the forest. After a few minutes Asuma watched as Aya's eyes slowly began to open as she looked around groggily. Her gaze settled on him and instantly her eyes widened in complete terror as she screamed and tried to push herself from his grasp as her eyes immediately filled with tears.

"NO, NO, NO! Not again...Please _not again_! Don't touch me! Let me go! LET ME GO!" she screamed thrashing in his arms, eventually Asuma had to stop and when he did Aya couldn't scramble from his arms fast enough as she backed away from him in a sobbing and hysterical panic.

"Aya calm down, you're hurt. Tell me what happened." He said softly trying to approach her.

"Get away from me!" Aya screamed gasping in pain as she fell to her knees holding her side tightly. Immediately she regretted doing so as a searing pain spread through her lower region making her pale considerably as she let out another scream of pain. It was as if her entire lower body was engulfed in fire. Asuma ran over to her and immediately applied pressure to her wound not caring as she hit him repeatedly. "I don't want your help! Don't touch me! Don't ever touch me again! Just leave me alone and get away from me!" The blonde sobbed now just trying to push him away. Asuma however wouldn't budge as he held her firmly in place.

"Aya If I don't stop the bleeding you could die." He said in all seriousness catching her arm as she tried hitting him.

"I _want_ to die!" She screamed startling the raven haired teen. "After what you did to me I _want _to die! I hate you! I HATE YOU, YOU PSYCHOPATH! I don't want to live with this memory of what you did to me...Why are you doing this? _WHY_!? _WHY HIM?!_ You're not _my_ Asuma! You're _not_ him! Don't touch me!" Now Asuma was scared and completely confused.

"Aya what the hell are you talking about!? What did I do!? Aya tell me what happened. Where did you go after paying your respects to Shikamaru-Sensei?" Asuma asked still applying the pressure to his girlfriend's wound as she feebly continued trying to push him away, so much did he want to run his fingers through the for once nicely brushed back locks of black hair. Aya's panic slowly ebbed away as she stared at him there was something in his voice and actions that was slowly calming her. She looked at him reproachfully, maybe…maybe this was _her_ Asuma after all, not the fake, not the one who'd try and trick her by lulling her into a false sense of security…not the one her dad went after…where was her dad? The blonde stayed quiet for a long time before looking up at him, she had to be sure.

"What are you to me? What did I say to you when we were lying on your bed that first time? Tell me…" Asuma blinked, she was testing him…why? "_Tell me_." She said more urgently. He closed his eyes and thought back before opening them and answering.

"I'm your best friend, and your rock, your voice of reason, and your firmest link to sanity when the world's pushing you over the edge." Aya breathed a sigh of relief she had never felt so relieved than she did at that moment, Asuma felt as her body relaxed in his arms slightly.

"I came to the woods so I could think…I was upset and I couldn't be there anymore I couldn't. So I walked through the woods and someone disguised as you jumped from the branches and scared me…but it wasn't you… it was you…but it wasn't…there was something different about him, something that made me uneasy…He hugged me and I hugged him back, but when he pulled my skirt up I pushed him away from me. He apologized…but there was no meaning behind it, it was empty. I was going to go home but then he grabbed me and slammed me to the ground…then he…he…raped me." Aya said numbly. "Why did this happen to me? Why did it happen? I begged for him to stop and he didn't. I cried my heart out as he caused me so much pain and he just…wouldn't…stop. I know it wasn't you who did it… it looked like you but it wasn't." She said looking over to the dark haired boy her eyes filled with so much pain.

"Aya I swear I would never hurt you, I would never ever hurt you or do anything to cause you any pain, I would never do that to you. You know me Aya, you know me. Look into my eyes and say that I'm lying to you, look into my eyes and tell me that I'm not speaking the truth." Aya looked at him as he held her close and as she looked into his pained and scared red eyes suddenly it hit her. His hair, that's what it was…it had been brushed back at the funeral service, a feat that took a painstakingly long time to achieve with his wild locks, but it was a mess earlier, now it was brushed back again…and his eyes, his eyes that radiated such pained hurt…that had always been so expressive and had never once been dull…those expressionless eyes that had actually turned gray…that's what had made her so uneasy…

"I know it wasn't you…The hair and the eyes were different…it wasn't you…i-it wasn't y-you…But it was. My heart is screaming that it wasn't you, and it's telling me that you aren't lying to me." The blonde sobbed holding her head in her hands. "But my head and body are screaming at me to run. It's taking so much effort to just stay here with you, to even let you touch me." She said in a strained whisper.

"Aya, I think whoever did this to you was using a transformation jutsu so you'd let your guard down…I'll go to the Yamanaka's and have them scan my mind if you want me to, I'll do it so you have absolute proof that it wasn't me who did it." Aya simply nodded. As gently as he could, Asuma lifted her from the ground and watched as she winced in pain flinching from his touch. "We're going to Tsunade's."

"Dad told me to wait for him at the river, he said not to move." Aya said softly, Asuma nodded walking back and sitting down on the rock once again, holding his shirt against her torn stitches still.

O0o0o0

Minato raced towards the fight and watched as the figure evading his father swerved towards him, with his Byakugan activated Minato fell into his stance and lunged towards him the moment he fell into the range of his eight trigrams, the man slammed against the tree as Minato struck his chakra points, as the final hit slammed into his chest the jutsu vanished revealing a familiar man as Minato stared in shock, this was the ANBU escort Jackal assigned to keep an eye on Naminé.

"You?!" the bluenette asked rage returning full force. Moments later Naruto leapt down from the trees landing in front of his son and hefting the man up by his shirt slamming him against the tree once again.

"Minato cut off his chakra and lock up his joints."

"But Dad what-"

"Do _not_ question me right now Minato just do it." The bluenette blinked in shock, his dad was pissed. Quickly he did as he was told blocking off the rest of the man's chakra and locking up his joints making him unable to move.

"What happened?"

"He attacked your sister_._"

"What?! But he's a Suna ANBU! Why would he do that? Where's Aya?"

"What do you mean he's a Suna ANBU? There are four from Suna and I've met with them all face to face, he's not one of them, and as for Aya I left her back at the river to catch _him._" hearing this Minato's eyes widened in shock.

"Dad, there was blood in the water when Asuma and I came looking for Aya!" The blue haired teen said quickly hurrying back towards the river, his father following close behind once the other male was swallowed by the toad he'd summoned, he'd deal with him later. They quickly made their way through the forest until they once again arrived at the stream only to find a blood stained stone in the middle of the small river. Immediately Minato activated his Byakugan and looked up towards a tree after catching sight of Asuma holding Aya tightly against him crouched silently on the branch.

"Asuma, it's us!" Minato called out. Immediately the black haired teen jumped down without holding the blonde crouching to cushion the fall.

"I know you know who I am in ANBU. Tell me, what were the words you said regarding my most recent mission?" Asuma said guardedly staring at Naruto, he wasn't gonna trust a damn person unless they proved themselves to him, and Naruto seemed to understand.

"'Being a man means making sacrifices in in everything you do, and knowing that the end result may not be what you wish. A true man knows he may have to sacrifice himself for the ones he loves and does it willingly.'" He nodded and turned to Minato.

"What did I tell you specifically regarding the bet we made at your genin graduation?" Minato thought back to it then glared at Asuma.

"'You owe me 500 ryo.'…Bastard."

"Well at least I know it's you two." Asuma said jumping down with the unconscious blonde as the clone from before disappeared, Naruto reached out and took his daughter in his arms.

"Let's go back to the village, were bringing her to Tsunade." Naruto said simply as they walked from the depths of the forest heading to Konoha. Aya winced again waking up feeling the burning heated throbbing, she whimpered wrapping her arm around her stomach hoping to ease the pain. Carefully Minato, Naruto, and Asuma brought the blonde to Tsunade's house and after making sure the blonde healer was home left Aya and Naruto there while Minato brought Asuma to the Yamanaka clan building.

Naruto knocked on the door still holding his daughter in his arms. The blonde former Kage opened the door took one look at the pair and pulled them immediately into the house and dragged them to her in home patient room.

"Naruto wait outside. Aya come with me." Tsunade said bringing the girl behind the closed door. "Strip." She said handing her a medical gown, just as she was about to leave Aya caught hold of her arm.

"I need help…please?" with a soft sigh Tsunade looked at the girl with worried eyes before helping her remove her clothes. Aya could only lift the shirt so far before the pain in her side stopped her she lifted as far as she could before Tsunade helped her pull the rest of the way.

"I'm going to pull the skirt down now, just step out of it ok?" Aya nodded using Tsunade's shoulder as support.

"What the hell happened to you?!" Tsunade asked seeing the blood on her legs and side.

"Please don't tell." She said with watery eyes. She was covered in scrapes bruises blood and dirt. Tsunade swore under her breath, she hated the patient confidentiality rule right now.

"I won't tell, but you need to tell me the truth of what happened to you." She said helping the blonde put the gown on.

"I went for a walk in the woods after leaving sensei's service. I was…I was…" At this the blonde broke down crying her heart out, she'd already said it once, and even then it nearly killed her, she couldn't say it again, Aya just couldn't. Tsunade however seemed to understand and held the teen tightly allowing her to cry, and when she finally stopped the healer spoke.

"What happened after Aya?"

"A- after I got away he caught up with me almost killed me, and pushed me down a hill, Dad saved me and left to go catch the guy. I think I hit my head on a rock, and I landed in a stream after I passed out…Will you please use chakra to heal this gash? I know I'm not on active duty, but I'm always ripping these damn stitches out in some way."

"Yes, I'll use chakra to heal your side I'm tired of stitching it up myself. I'm going to have to do a vaginal exam on you to see what possible damage was caused to you down there. I'll use a rape kit to collect any specimens he would have left behind." Aya blinked.

"I have a question."

"Ask."

"If he used a transformation jutsu…would the DNA that is collected from the sample be the original person's or would the DNA be that of the person they transformed into?"

"It would be their own, the transformation is just a mask, using a jutsu does not change the DNA."

"Good…I'm relieved to know that."

"Whoever did this was using a transformation jutsu?"

"Yes, they were. The person they were pretending to be…he would never do this to me." Aya said looking down in shame as tears once again filled her eyes.

"May I ask who they were impersonating?" Aya was silent for the longest moment but finally she spoke softly.

"Asuma…whoever it was wanted me to think it was Asuma…and I did." She said breaking down. "I can't look at him without feeling terrified, I know it wasn't him but...if their purpose was to make me fear him…they succeeded."

Tsunade placed her hand on the girl's shoulder leading her to the medical bed as she cried.

"It's going to be ok Aya, we'll get through this…who stopped the bleeding?" she said as the blonde lay down to have her six day old half healed re-torn wound examined.

"Asuma. I woke up and he was carrying me from the woods and I completely freaked out. I'm afraid to even let him touch me."

"If you know it wasn't him who hurt you, you'll have to work through your fear…it will be hard, but you can do it…I would suggest just thinking of this day as a bad dream…and once we find out who did this…if you ever have to remember, just put the face of the true perpetrator there instead." Tsunade said as she healed the wound with her chakra. Aya closed her eyes and concentrated on the feeling of the skin knitting back together.

"For now…maybe that idea could work…Maybe it could work after I'm healed and feel no more physical pain from this incident." Tsunade nodded.

"Your side is healed, I'm sorry but to conserve chakra the doctors have to use physical stitches for wounds that won't allow people to return to active duty immediately...we don't want ninja over exerting themselves and getting hurt. Now I'll need you to put your feet in these stirrups and scoot as close to the edge of the bed as you can and just let your legs drop to the side so I can see what's going on down there." Aya scooted to the edge of the examination bed but didn't move. "It's going to be ok Aya, the first examination is always extremely awkward but it gets easier. Just close your eyes and relax." Tsunade said gently watching as the girl lay back and put her feet in the stirrups, she looked ready to cry. Tsunade looked at the girl with pity and gently placed her hand on Aya's forehead before it glowed a blue-green and knocked the girl out. "It's going to be ok Aya…" Tsunade said softly as she began her examination.

O0o0o0o0

Minato sat and watched as Asuma's memories were scanned, it was exactly as he suspected, all that was seen was the boy struggling to brush his hair back for almost an hour which in its self was quite funny, the service, his speech, and then he and Minato going into the forest to look for Aya before the service ended, then him finding Aya. With this proven Asuma went home and Minato took the tape with him and went to Tsunade's house. He knocked on the door and after a minute the blonde opened the door.

"What are you doing here Minato?" Tsunade asked lightly with a smile.

"I know Aya's here Tsunade-sama, Dad and I brought her." He said flatly as the blonde let him in the house. "How's she doing?"

"She's hurt pretty badly, would you have any idea who did this?" Minato simply nodded his head.

"Yeah it was some guy impersonating a Suna ANBU, Dad caught him." Minato said angrily. He wondered what Asuma was going to do…then Minato realized something, No one told Asuma who'd hurt Aya, or that he'd been caught for that matter. Immediately he dismissed himself from Tsunade's house to find the red eyed boy before he went and did something stupid.

O0o0o0o0

Asuma sat silently in his room against the wall, his mind going crazy, but of everything that was going on in that chaotic thing he called his mind, only two things bothered him. Who wanted to hurt Aya this badly that they would masquerade as him, and why did she not want to report it? Even though she made him promise not to tell, he told her father what injuries he'd found while she was unconscious. Did she not understand that this was completely different than what happened when she was younger? Did she not get that this wasn't a case of 'this guy felt me up' but a case of 'I was raped in the woods by a fellow shinobi'? It was driving him insane, and then he realized that there was something he could do, he could convince her to tell someone. Her parents surely could convince her to do something about the situation and report what had happened, but he had to be sneaky about it, he couldn't just blurt out what happened to them because then all hell would break lose, especially if her mother found out and he couldn't have that. He was so angry, Shikamaru would have known what to do…he would have been the perfect person to talk to about this, to ask for advice…but maybe…maybe he could ask _her_…they were similar with their thoughts though polar opposites and she was incredibly sharp.

Standing Asuma walked over to his window and jumped out, he was in too much of a hurry to bother using the front door. He made his way over to the compound hoping she hadn't left yet, because if she did then that would be a problem. As fast as he could, Asuma made his way over to the compound of the Nara clan to find Temari.

O0o0o0

The blonde had her son tied to her chest in some kind of hammock type papoose thing Yoshino taught her how to make out of spare blankets as she packed some of her belongings. She would come back, Yoshino's words struck her hard, she was no coward, but now she just needed to be with her family for a bit and the older woman seemed to understand completely. She promised to return during the holidays so she could see her grandson. A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.

"Lady Temari, you have a visitor." A young Nara girl said.

"Who?" the girl shrugged her shoulders.

"Some boy, he said you helped him before and that he's your son's teacher. The guy's gotta be crazy Yahiko's just under a week old." Temari's face lit up with recognition.

"That's Asuma, Shika's student. Let him in please, if he's looking to speak to me it must be important." The blonde said as the girl walked away soon returning with the black haired boy.

"Temari-san, I need your opinion on something really important." Asuma said seriously. Temari nodded and motioned for him to close the door.

"Come follow me, we won't be disturbed out here." She said leading him through another door and into the Nara forest where the deer lived. Once they made it to a far clearing deep in the woods Temari turned to face Asuma, Yahiko sleeping soundly against his mother. "Talk."

"I need a woman's perspective." Temari raised an eyebrow but nodded for him to continue. Asuma talked for almost twenty minutes straight explaining the entire dilemma starting all the way from the very beginning and going all the way to what had just happened.

"And she doesn't want to report it I think she's afraid to. I don't know what to do, and I don't know why she refuses to help herself…I don't even know if they caught the guy." He said finishing and looking into the sharp green eyes of the blonde before him.

"You're right, she is afraid. She's afraid of repercussions. She's afraid that if whoever did it gets caught because of her and is then let go because there isn't enough proof that they'll come after her and do something worse. There are two things you can do, one would be to respect her wishes and do nothing, and the other would be to find out who did it and have them arrested. Does she know who might have done it?" Temari knew there was something big he wasn't telling her, there was no way that if the girl was a shinobi she wouldn't know who her attacker was. Unless…

"She doesn't know who it was because they were using a transformation Jutsu."

'Bingo.'

"And how would you know if that was the truth? What if she didn't want to admit that someone she loved had actually hurt her?"

"But he'd never do that." Asuma said firmly.

"But you never know." Temari said purposely pushing his buttons and running her fingers through her son's hair, she'd get it all out of him eventually.

"_He wouldn't."_ the black haired teen growled firmly.

"Asuma, you just don't want to admit to the fact that you don't know what some people are capable of, they seem all nice but when their refused what they want things can get nasty. What proof do you have that whoever it was that raped your friend wasn't actually themselves?"

"BECAUSE _I'D_ NEVER DO THAT TO HER!" he shouted angrily, and it seems his frustration was just beginning to show. "I would never hurt her like that, I'd never force her into anything she didn't want! She's terrified of me now! She can't look at me without being afraid…She can't hide that look in her eyes when she's around me, their nervous and guarded and afraid…I can't even touch her."

"Asuma, you need to compose yourself and listen." Temari said firmly giving him a moment to control his rage. "Good, now pay attention and think hard about what I'm going to say to you. It's one of many possibilities of this situation at hand. What if Aya wasn't the person they were trying to hurt? What if the person they were aiming to affect was you? What if they hurt her to get to you? Is that at all possible?" Asuma blinked in shock, he'd never thought of this possibility. He continued to listen intently as Temari spoke. "Think about it, they target someone close to you, pretending to be you. They hurt that person and not only gain fulfillment from their actions against that person, but they get to cause you harm as well by making someone who you love dearly, someone who is very important to you afraid of you. Now answer me this: Who would use your friend's pain, to cause harm to you? Who would gain fulfillment in causing your friend harm? Who would hurt her to hurt you? Who would enjoy not only her pain but yours as well? If you two are as close as you say, then there's a common person in both of your lives who could wish some kind of harm upon you both, be it physical or mental doesn't matter. Who do you know in Konoha that may want to hurt you Asuma?" Suddenly Asuma blinked and Temari watched as recognition flashed across his face, then he was angry, pissed beyond pissed and madder than she'd ever seen him get.

"Why the fuck did I not think of him sooner?!" He growled slamming his fist into a nearby tree.

"I take it you've figured it out? The one who possibly hurt your friend, you know who it might be?"

"Yes, I did thank you. I know exactly who it is." As Temari led him from the Nara woods and back to the compound, the only thing on Asuma's mind was how he was going to kill Norio Inuzuka, even though he'd seen him at the memorial service, he knew that the brunette had to be involved in some way.

**Yeah… I hesitated in posting this chapter, I was like they'll so hate me….**

**Uh oh, dum dum dum! Will Minato get to the pissed off Asuma in time? And who is really the man masquerading as a Suna Shinobi? Questions comments and the like you can PM them to me or leave them in a review and I'll gladly respond to you! Next chapter will be up soon! **


	23. Nocturnal admissions

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 21

Nocturnal Admissions

"And what exactly would I get out of this Asuma?" The blonde teen asked looking the black haired boy in his eyes. He was speaking to Inami Akamichi, daughter of Choji and Ino. Her platinum blonde hair was cropped to just above her shoulders, but was not sleek and straight like her mothers, but wild and spiky like her fathers. She was slender much like her mother was at her age, but instead of the blue eyes of Ino, she had Choji's brown ones. She had the Akamichi crest on her left shoulder and the Yamanaka crest on her right shoulder.

"Listen, I just need to prove something and it's of vital importance, I know you and I don't get along that well Inami-

"Psht, we _never_ get along Asuma-

"I'm _aware of this_." The raven haired teen growled glaring at the short haired girl who glared back. "But you're Aya's friend, and that's the thing, you aren't doing this for me, you're doing this for her."

"Fine, the only reason I'd ever work with you is because I love her like how I love my little brother, what do you need?"

"Something happened to Aya today after the service for the missing ninja…I have a feeling I know who did it, but I need you to look through his memory and confirm this for me." The blonde looked at him wide eyed.

"Asuma, even being in ANBU using my mind transfer jutsu on a fellow Konoha shinobi without provocation will get me into loads of trouble. What exactly did this guy do to Aya?"

"You'll find out when you do it now won't you?" Asuma said simply, curiosity was Inami's downfall.

"You're an ass." She snapped.

"And you're a stuck up brat, but I need your help to find out who hurt my girlfriend and _your teammate_, you're considered to be the genius child of the Yamanaka, are you saying this would be too difficult for you to accomplish Ms. Akamichi?"

"Piss off Asuma, just give me the damn name and the time frame of the attack."

"Norio Inuzuka. And the time was about 3pm today, but I need you to check farther back to around noon. I also want you to look around for any suspicious memories around last week too."

"You owe me big time for this, meet me at the Hokage stone faces this time tomorrow and I'll have what you need." Inami hissed glaring at the red eyed teen as she stalked off. Asuma sighed happy that that was over for the time being, he and Inami rarely saw eye to eye, he got along with her twin brother Chou much better than he did her. They were polar opposite in looks the two siblings, Chou while slim like his sister was the taller of the two, with brown hair and blue eyes, and excelled not in the Yamanaka arts like his sister, but those of the Akamichi, he was also much less of a brat. Asuma however couldn't deny Inami's skill, she was exceptionally gifted at spying and recognizance, as was her brother, they made a perfect team. If anyone could do this, it would be her, and no doubt she'd recruit her brother to help.

With this done Asuma made his way back to Tsunade's house where Aya was awake feeling absolutely no pain from the assault and having no recollection of how she'd even gotten there much to his surprise, though she was still filthy and exhausted. Minato was already there and Tsunade pulled the younger teen aside and told him that because it was such a traumatic experience for his sister, her mind probably blocked it off, though she did warn them that anything could trigger a flashback for her, and that she might end up having nightmares. Minato nodded and after informing Asuma of what his father had done and disproving his suspicions about Norio, he brought Aya home while Asuma made his way to the Hokage's tower to see Naruto, he still wasn't convinced, he was sure that the brunette had some part to play in what happened.

O0o0o0o0

Minato listened as Aya showered and finally as she made her way to her room dressing before going to bed. It was already 10pm and Minato knew his mother would be over at Aunt Hanabi's and his father would still be at work, especially with this incident. Kazuki was with Neji at the Hyuga compound so it was just he and his sister. Minato sat quietly in the living room listening to the TV but not really watching it, his thoughts were too chaotic to focus on the movie. Suddenly a knock came to his door and standing the bluenette went to answer it only to be surprised at who it was.

"Naminé, what are you doing here?" The red head shrugged her shoulders and yawned.

"I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd see if you were still up." Minato simply nodded as he let his girlfriend in the house, she looked beyond exhausted.

"I was just getting ready for bed."

"Ok, I'll just sleep over then." Naminé said simply, they had done this multiple times. Minato nodded closing the door behind her and went to grab the spare futon from the closet but Naminé stopped him.

"Umm, Minato…do you…could we sleep together?" The bluenette froze and felt his face heat up as he blinked at her, it was only the redhead who was able to make Minato blush like this now.

"Naminé?" Naminé blinked curiously at him and immediately understood why he was blushing and gasped her face burning red as well.

"Not like that! I just don't want to sleep alone is all…" she said burying her face in her hands her face the color of her hair. Immediately Minato wanted to kick himself. "I haven't been able to sleep well at all for a while now since _that _time…and the last time I actually slept without waking up every few minutes was when I took a nap on you in the tree."

'Of course, I'm a damn idiot. I'll never live this one down…' he thought feeling like a fool, though the last words she said had caught his attention.

"Wasn't that a week ago Naminé?"

"Yeah." She said softly.

"Yeah, of course, wow I'm dumb, sure…" He said making the red head laugh through her embarrassment as they walked up the stairs. As the two made their way to Minato's room, the older teen paused at his sister's door listening for any sound of distress. After several moments of silence he continued on to his room where Naminé was digging through his drawers pulling out a shirt of his that was much too large for her before walking to the bathroom. Minato quickly changed into a pair of shorts and climbed into the bed shutting the light off and scooting to the edge of the mattress. Naminé walked in wearing his t shirt and yawning as she climbed into the bed. He could feel the warmth radiating from her as she snuggled deeper under the blanket. With no words exchanged the two soon went to sleep.

O0o0o0o0

Minato woke some hours later to Naminé turning over and mumbling incoherently in her sleep. He stretched tiredly and made his way down the hall and into the bathroom. Afterwards he went to check on Aya. He opened the door to see her sleeping soundly cuddled up to the stuffed piggy Asuma had given her last week just after she'd gotten home. All seemed fine so closing the door he made his way back to his room where he immediately picked up the sound of whimpers. He quickly entered the room and found Naminé tangled up in the sheets and still asleep as she tried to escape their hold on her. Her whimpers soon turned to sobs as she cried out in a panic. Minato hurried over and untangled her freeing the trapped red head as she continued to panic.

She was back there again, she could feel them pinning her down, the sounds of their voices, hands touching her body in ways only a lover should, his breath on her neck, hands groping at her body…and…and gentle hands on her face…whispers in her ear…soothing words chasing her fears away, as they told her it was going to be ok, that she had to calm down.

"Naminé, relax, its ok, its ok, calm down, you're safe…" Minato said softly wiping the tears from her face as she tossed restlessly, though she'd begun to slow down as he held her firmly in his grasp resting his forehead on hers. "It's ok Naminé, you're safe, you're safe, I won't let anyone hurt you." He whispered. Moments later the red head gasped as her eyes popped open, her heart was racing as her body continued to tremble. Minato's eyes opened and lavender met nervous brown orbs. She continued to pant heavily as he simply stared at her.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly breaking the silence, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. Naminé simply nodded feeling his body pressed against hers for the most part, his hands held her wrists, and for the first time…for the first time in a very long while the grip on her wrists didn't bother her as he continued to hold her down. His chest was against hers and she could feel his heart pounding quickly, the only thing preventing skin to skin contact was her thin t shirt, for she'd removed her bra and bindings to sleep, and even so she could feel his body heat radiating from him. Minato seemed to realize the compromising position they were in for he began to pull away from the red head, releasing her wrists as he made to sit up. Naminé however stopped him reaching up and bringing his face back to hers as she kissed him.

He needed very little persuasion to be brought back, her arms wrapped around his neck deepening the kiss as he ran his fingers through her hair. In the dim moonlight Minato could see the dark t-shirt had fallen to the side revealing the pale silky smooth skin of her shoulder and neck. He kissed downwards licking and grazing his teeth across the newly revealed skin making her whimper softly as her hands ran through his hair. He was beyond shocked when he felt Naminé's legs shift allowing him to settle between them, his hips pressed firmly against hers while she pulled his face to hers and continued kissing him once again. He pushed past the surprise and continued where he left off devouring her neck's sensitive flesh as his hand settled on her waist. Soon enough he felt his hand being pulled upwards by the red head, and catching the hint he began kneading her breasts making her moan softly into the kiss they shared.

It was rare knowledge that Minato wasn't as innocent as he'd seemed, no one could really ever imagine the sweet boy ever engaging in anything sexual, he seemed too proper for something like that, oh how wrong they were. He'd had serious girlfriends, and he had sex though it was never something he'd ever jumped into with them, he was far from inexperienced like many believed him to be. He was well aware on how to take things with Naminé, yes, she'd had boyfriends in the past as well and even though it killed him to listen to her talk about them he knew she'd only gone so far with them, and had bad experiences in the past, still she had never gone as far as she was initiating right now though and he honestly began to wonder if she was even ready to go that far. He pulled away from her slowly and looked into confused eyes.

"Why are you doing this Naminé?"

'Your answer right now decides what we do next.' He thought to himself.

"Because, I want to." She said simply pulling him down for another kiss, but the bluenette resisted. He could see a totally different story in her eyes, they looked nervous and afraid.

"No. Naminé, really, why are you forcing yourself into this?" She closed her eyes and sighed looking away from him.

"Because, I want to be with you, no one else but you…I don't want to keep remembering what happened to me, I want new memories to replace those. I love you Minato, I really do and I don't want to make you do something you aren't ready for." She said softly.

"You say I'm the one not ready, yet you look like you're about to cry. Naminé you know that these eyes of mine don't miss much, you're afraid right now." Naminé didn't even bat a lash.

"I know. But I want my first time to be with you, not with a group of men who'll use my like their plaything, who'll beat me and rape me and throw me aside after they've had their fill of me…nor do I want it to be with some pig headed jerk who doesn't even love me…I want to be with you because I know you'll treat me the way I should be treated, I know you'd never hurt me on purpose, and I know you love me. Please Minato…I want this." Naminé said softly looking into his lavender colored eyes, he seemed to be thinking about the situation and finally he stopped closing his eyes.

"Are you on any kind of birth control?" Naminé simply shook her head she honestly hadn't thought that far ahead.

"No."

"Then what did you think was going to happen Naminé? That's how you get knocked up." Minato said shaking his head. "Are you allergic to latex?" Again she shook her head silently. Minato reached over to his nightstand digging around until he found what he was looking for. "There you go, problem solved." He said simply placing the item in Naminé's hand and making her blush as she looked from him to the condom in her hand. "You sure you want to go through with this still?" Naminé nodded her head.

"Yes."

"Ok, relax then. Sex is about feeling good, and you won't feel good if you're all tensed up like you are." Naminé once again nodded as she took several deep breaths, she was still tense and Minato could see it. He activated his Byakugan and found a small tenketsu point on her neck and gently pressed it watching as her body completely relaxed.

"Whoa." She breathed feeling all the tension slip away into nothingness as he deactivated his dojutsu. Once again the red head reached out for the bluenette who was quick to respond, he kissed her deeply and pulled her close as he kneaded her breasts running his hands along her curvy body. Soon enough with all the touching and heated kisses Naminé began feeling a strange sensation building up between her legs and wanted nothing more than to make it go away, she just didn't know how, she'd never felt this way before.

She was squirming a lot and that caught Minato's attention, she was not pushing him away, nor rejecting his advances, her legs were rubbing together and immediately he understood, he could recall his first girlfriend being quite "squirmy" for a little while after they'd first messed around. Gently he pushed her back on the bed so once again the red head was lying down looking up at him curiously. One arm, he had supporting him as he leaned over her, and the other he had moving along Naminé's waist making its way lower. Slowly he leaned down until he was right by her ear.

"Sexual tension…" he whispered in a husky voice making her cheeks tint red as she glanced at him. "…That's what you're feeling…right here…" Immediately the red head gasped and buried her face in his neck to keep quiet as he began rubbing between her legs through her panties. It was indescribable the sensations and feelings crashing through her body, it took all she could not to scream from the amount of sheer pleasure that radiated from his actions. Naminé held onto his shoulder tightly panting heavily and gasping in sheer bliss. She wondered if he would have the same reaction as she did. Would he feel the same if she did this for him? Tentatively she reached down only for the bluenette to stop her.

"Don't, if you do that I don't think I'll be able to stop."

"I don't want you too." Naminé said in a breathy voice as she lifted the shirt over her head and tossing to only god knows where. His hand went to work pulling her panties town her shapely toned legs as his mouth closed around her nipple, his other hand squeezed her other breast pinching the sensitive peak making her gasp softly. She never knew that Minato knew such things as this, and the red head was practically writhing under this touch. Naminé tensed when his fingers went higher up her inner thigh, and her mind went back to that last day they were captured, being pinned to the ground, the men touching her all over, the helpless fear that jolted her body and scared her beyond anything she'd ever felt. Immediately she clenched her eyes shut tight, gasping, and whimpering in fear as she covered her body with her hands pushing him back. Minato didn't miss a beat as he caressed her face kissing her and drawing her back out from her shell, it took some time but finally his efforts were rewarded as she once again opened her eyes for him.

"Hey, it's all right, this is your choice remember? I stop when you tell me to, I'm not going to hurt you, I'd never hurt you." He said softly feeling as her body once again relaxed underneath him as he held her tightly. "Maybe we should stop."

"No, I'm fine-

"Naminé, we need to take this slow. If we rush into something like this it will be something you'll regret." Minato said softly.

"But I'd never regret being with you." The red head said softly, Minato simply shook his head.

"Can you honestly tell me that you're ready for this and mean it? Tell me the truth. Are you?" Minato asked his hand cupping Naminé's cheek already knowing her answer and even planning on calling her out on it if she lied to him again. Closing her eyes she pressed her cheek into his hand.

"No, I'm not ready. But I like when you kiss me, and when you touch me, and when you hold me and make me feel safe. Like how you're doing right now." The red head said softly slowly wrapping her arms around him and holding the bluenette tightly. "I'm sorry."

"For what? I'm telling _you_ no."

"I know, but I feel like I've led you on." Minato couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh yes you're such a tease." He said sarcasm oozing from his voice. That however switched to sincerity as he nuzzled her neck and kissed her softly. "Believe me Naminé I'm perfectly fine with this."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely, I'd never do anything with you that you aren't ready for."

"Minato?"

"Hmm?"

"Can we…can we still mess around a bit? I was kind of enjoying that…" Naminé asked in an almost nonexistent voice with a blush that put Minato to shame making the blue haired teen laugh.

"Sure, why not?"

"Good." The red headed teen said bringing her lips up to meet once more.

O0o0o0

Aya woke with a start as she looked wildly around her room, she'd just had the most frightening dream though she couldn't remember much of what had happened in it, there were bits and pieces she could recall, running through the forest, the panic, uneasiness, jolts of gut wrenching fear and pain. Those had been the most prominent feelings. Climbing out of bed the teen decided to get herself some water, and as Aya made her way down the hall towards the stairs she paused, hearing whimpers, groans, and gasps coming from her brother's room. Tentatively she walked over to the door which was open just a crack and looked through the small opening. Immediately her face burned bright red as she stumbled back and hurried away from the room heading downstairs. The blonde didn't stop until she entered the bathhouse on the first floor, slamming the door shut behind her and pressing her back against the wall as she slowly slid down it. She'd just seen… _her brother_ and _Naminé _were- They were-! That was something she had soooo not wanted to ever witness, them having sex, fooling around whatever they were doing neither were appealing thoughts then she flinched as memories crashed over her.

"_Asuma you scared the hell out of me." She said letting out a shaky breath._

Unease coursed through her.

"_What the hell are you doing?!" she asked looking into his eyes and taking a step back. _

Nervousness struck her heart.

_"Let go of me!" Aya demanded pushing away from him. _

Panic flooded through her body.

"_Asuma stop it, you're scaring me." _

Fear soon took hold as she began to tremble_. _

"_Asuma stop it! Please stop! Please don't do this!" She begged as she began to cry trembling in fear feeling as he pulled her underwear down her thighs making her scream in panic._

Aya winced terror and desperation chilling her to her very core as tears burned her eyes.

"_No...Please, please! Asuma please stop, it hurts..."_

Wave after wave of panicked memories crashed over the blonde as she held her head her eyes streaming, and her body feeling every ounce of pain she received as she relived the memories. It all hurt so bad and as the memories continued coming Aya could feel every jolt of pain coursing through her body. She could still hear her sobs echoing through her head and her gasps of pain as she began to cry harder_. _Then the memories ceased, and she could hear the voice, Asuma's voice sounding so sinister, so unlike him.

"_You see it didn't have to be like that, it happened that way because you were stubborn." _

His eyes…gray eyes…not red…gray ones…it wasn't him, it was, but it wasn't…She remembered nothing after that as her heart ached and her body trembled.

"_Until next time, that day your life is mine_." She was hysterical and burying her face in her knees Aya just sat there and cried her heart out.

O0o0o0

Naminé lay next to Minato quite content snuggling up to him after their heated make-out session. The bluenette was about to speak when Naminé placed a finger over his lips.

"Shhh, I think I hear something." She said softly turning onto her side and allowing the bluenette to sit up as she held the sheets against her body as she listened. Minato activated his Byakugan and looked around.

"Aya's not in her room." He said softly as he continued to scan the rest of the house for his sister.

"Minato you don't think she saw us do you?" Minato simply shook his head until finally he found her in the bath house of all places. At first he thought she was going to take a bath but then realized she wasn't moving, the blonde simply sat against the wall holding her knees to her chest. Then it struck him, she was crying. At the sight he swore and climbed out of the bed glad he kept his boxers on and pulling on his shorts and grabbing a t-shirt while Naminé grabbed the t-shirt she'd been previously wearing and donned it once again, grabbing her panties and pulling them on as she hurried after Minato. Once in the hall the sound of her hysterical crying could be heard more clearly and the two hurried faster down the stairs towards the source.

Minato was the first to enter the bath house and quickly rushed over to the blonde but the moment he reached out to touch her she panicked scrambling away from him. Minato felt hurt but after exchanging a look with the red head beside him he stepped back to the door and allowed Naminé to handle the situation as she carefully made her way over.

"Aya, it's gonna be ok. No one here's gonna hurt you I promise." Naminé said slowly making her way over until she was right in front of the crying blonde. Reaching out Naminé gently touched Aya's arm and was relieved that she hadn't pulled away. Sitting down next to Aya, Naminé felt the blonde lean against her shoulder, and wrapping her arm around the younger teen the red head pulled her close allowing her to cry.

"It wasn't a dream…it happened, it actually happened…everything I dreamed…everything I thought was just a dream…it's all real."

Minato watched as Naminé stayed beside his sister for what felt like hours. He was beside himself, not knowing what to do for his sister, he'd never seen her like this ever and even that time in the hospital didn't compare to this, the blonde was having a complete mental breakdown and Minato was honestly wondering if she was getting sick, they were in the bath house after all. After a while Aya had fallen into a restless sleep beside Naminé, and slowly Naminé used her sand to lift the younger teen as they made their way back into the main house from the bath house. Climbing the stairs Naminé made her way back up to Aya's room making the sand gently deposit the blonde onto the bed.

"What can we do for her?" Minato asked anxiously looking at Naminé with hope that she could miraculously fix his sister.

"Nothing Minato, we can't do a thing for her. Aya has to do for herself. It's entirely up to her to get over this fear, and to deal with these memories. She has to do it…we can't do this for her." Naminé said quietly and all of a sudden Minato had the overwhelming feeling that Naminé was speaking from experience, and with a heavy heart he wrapped his arms around the red head holding her from behind as he nuzzled his head into her neck.

"I'm so sorry."

"Minato…we've been over this, it's not your fault and it never will be." Naminé said quietly her hand holding his arm tightly.

"I know…but I'm still sorry."

"For what? You have nothing to be sorry for." Naminé asked softly.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't do more when you needed me." Naminé stood quietly before sighing. She knew this would stick with him for a while.

"You did all you could, and that was enough for me…that _is_ enough for me. Don't let this haunt you." The red head said softly still encased in Minato's arms as she turned to face him, running her hand on his cheek. "Don't let this consume you Minato, stay with me in the here and now _please_." Taking a moment eventually the bluenette blinked and nodded watching as Naminé smiled. "Good, now let's go back to bed, I'm tired." Again Minato nodded and with a last look at his sister they walked from the room.

**=D please don't kill me… * Sees hordes of people with torches and pitchforks***

**FUUUU! Next chapter will be out soon! *flees the area* **


	24. Finding information

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 22

Finding information

**This chapter contains lots of swearing! it's also short and another will be posted Thursday**

Two ANBU, one wearing the mask of a boar, and the other an eagle silently made their way from the Inuzuka compound

"Go find Asuma, this information was easier to obtain than I thought it would be." A feminine voice said to Eagle who nodded.

"Hokage stone faces is still the meeting point?" the male in the eagle mask said to Boar.

"Hai Nii-san. Be there in ten, make yourself scarce."

"Hai Nee-Chan."

O0o0o0o

Asuma was sitting in his room in the dark, it was just past midnight and knowing Inami like he did, the black haired teen didn't put it past her to have Chou fetch him around this time to relay the information. His thoughts proved correct when he sensed the chakra of the male Akimichi twin. Rising from his bed and dressed in his ANBU uniform he climbed from the window landing on the ground in a crouch just as Eagle appeared in front of him.

"You know my sister far too well."

"Yeah she likes pissing me off, that's a particular talent of hers." Asuma said setting the pace as they headed to the stone Hokages. They arrived to see Boar standing atop the head of the 6th Hokage looking over the village passively.

"You have the information?" Asuma asked cutting to the chase, he didn't feel like dealing with Inami tonight.

"I'm not useless you know, I've earned my right as a Yamanaka prodigy…" the blonde in the Boar mask said tossing Asuma a cd case, the DVD safely inside. While her brother had been fetching the black haired teen she'd returned home to record the information onto a disk and arrive to the stone faces with enough time to spare.

"Well done." Asuma said coolly.

"Fuck you, without your mask you aren't my damn superior so go piss off."

"You're such a lady." Asuma said with a smirk, yeah he and Inami despised each other but something more was wrong here, Inami always got more vulgar when she was upset. The blonde visibly bristled at his words, and to be honest Asuma swore she growled at him.

"I don't have to be a fucking lady you damn asshole! You aren't worth my time so if were done here I only have one thing to say to you."

"Say it, you've never held back that mouth of yours before Brat, why start now?" Boar started towards Asuma angrily but was quickly held back by her brother.

"Fuck you, you bastard!"

"Is that all?" Asuma couldn't help but smirk he knew he was pissing her off.

"No. If you don't kill him for what he's done, I'll end you." Inami said in a threateningly low voice.

"Are you threatening your superior Boar?" Asuma asked in an equally threatening voice. Inami ripped her arm from her brother's grip and pulling her mask off walked up to Asuma stopping when her face was just an inch from his brown eyes glaring into burning red.

"No, I'm not threatening my superior. I'm threatening my best friend's boyfriend. Who better man the fuck up and deal with this problem." Inami said with an icy glare which Asuma matched. Without breaking eye contact Inami addressed her brother. "Chou, were finished here. Let's go." Watching her brother take off from her peripherals the blonde stalked past Asuma before pausing addressing the male one last time.

"I meant what I said Asuma…and just so you know, you won't like what you see…it's not what you thought it was but it still constitutes treason." She said in warning, and in moments she had vanished, her chakra fading away into the night. Asuma stood silently as they left, he knew he was alone and after pulling his mask from his pouch and trading it with the CD, the black haired teen made his way to the jail house, he knew Ibiki was working the interrogation tomorrow morning and one thing burned bright in the front of his mind, Ibiki owed him a favor.

O0o0o0

Hinata walked down the street from Hanabi's house and paused at the corner knowing she was being followed. Turning she faced the ANBU who dropped down in front of her.

"Where's my daughter now?" she asked still angry, this was the same man who had told her in the first place what had happened to her daughter, Naruto spoke highly of him, this Wolf.

"She's home, safe with Minato, under my watch."

"And Naruto knows?"

"Yes, he assigned me specifically." Hinata nodded.

"He keeps things from me sometimes, tell me honestly, was he there? Was that why he left the ceremony?"

"Yes." Hinata nodded, she knew Naruto knew she was going to be staying with Hanabi, he probably didn't want to add more stress that much she could forgive.

"Tell me…who found her?"

"Lord Hokage, however he left her safely tucked away to hunt down the attacker, she was then found by Asuma while Minato helped lord Hokage capture the perpetrator."

"I see. I need to go see my child. Thank you for informing me of this." Hinata said watching as the ANBU vanished into a cloud of smoke proving it was a clone as she too made her way home.

O0o0o0

When the bluenette arrived home all was silent as she made her way up stairs, quickly heading to her daughter's room. Hinata opened the door and crept in watching as the blonde tossed and turned whimpering in her sleep. The sight broke her heart, walking over Hinata slowly ran her hand through her daughter's blonde locks calming the teen, watching as she remained asleep.

"It's ok Baby, it's gonna be ok." Hinata said softly brushing her hand against her daughter's cheek only to blink in shock, she was clammy, Aya always got this way when she was about to be really sick, like bed ridden high and low temperatures sick. Hinata shook her head, it probably had a lot to do with the week in general, it was very draining on her daughter, Hinata knew. Waking in the hospital after lifesaving surgery, losing one's sensei, being attacked and injured twice…all of it had to have taken quite a toll on her immune system, but Hinata worried, Aya's stitches had been torn twice in the last week alone, and neither in very sanitary places…what if she had some kind of infection? This worried the blue haired woman and quickly she went to check her wound for any signs of inflammation or infection only to stare in shock at the smooth scar along her daughter's side, it had been healed by chakra, a job most likely done by Tsunade…what worried Hinata was that if there was an infection in her wound, it was under the skin now possibly entering her bloodstream.

O0o0o0

Naruto arrived home late in the evening, if one could even call it evening anymore and headed to his office leaving the remaining paperwork on his desk, that he could finish tomorrow, tonight he wanted to be with his family. He knew Hinata was meeting with Hanabi earlier, he was concerned though especially with what had happened to their daughter this morning, Hinata probably found out by now. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell her what had happened, he just hadn't found the time to get her alone to let her know what happened. Naruto walked from his office in the library to his bedroom, entering and looking around surprised that he was unable to find his wife. The blonde made his way to his children's rooms, Kazuki's was empty, Minato was sleeping soundly with Naminé, the sight make him look again but shaking his head he moved on to his oldest daughter's room where he found his wife.

"She's clammy." Hinata said softly not even facing her husband. Naruto nodded and walked over hugging Hinata's shoulders.

"That doesn't mean she's getting sick."

"I know, but you know how I worry about my children Naruto."

"I know." He said softly kissing the top of her head.

"I know what happened to Aya." Naruto blinked for a moment and shook his head.

"I was going to tell you earlier, but I couldn't find the right time." Hinata simply nodded. "Come, let's go to bed. We'll deal with everything in the morning."

"Has he been arrested?" Naruto knew what Hinata was talking about. She knew he was but wanted to hear it from her husband.

"Yes."

"Good, everything he can be charged with I want thrown at him." Naruto nodded.

"I'll do everything for Aya that I can." He said softly placing his hand on his daughter's head looking at the blonde sadly.

Again Hinata nodded, and taking the blanket at the end of the bed she covered her daughter with it, and leaning down she kissed her forehead and followed the blonde quietly walking from the room.

**A short chapter, covers a few gray areas and look more characters! Next chapter will be up soon! Laters guys!**


	25. Rememberance

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 23

Remembrance

The red headed Uzumaki child never failed to find it odd how her uncle Neji had photos of her little cousin Hizashi all around yet would refuse to ever talk about him. On more than one occasion Kazuki wanted to tell Neji that she missed Hizashi as well, yet she feared his reaction should she even consider doing so. He would have been ten this month just like she was, they were best friends, then he got sick. That's why Kazuki decided to become a medical ninja, so no one else would have to lose their friends and family if she could help it.

"Good night Kazuki-Chan."

"Good night Aunty Tenny." The brunette smiled, her hair out of its usual buns and resting around her shoulders. Kazuki climbed into the bed and snuggled under the covers watching as Tenten shut the light off closing the door. The red headed child closed her eyes and allowed her dreams to take her, it had been a long day and this time of rest was most welcome.

Tenten walked down the hall towards Neji's study, it had been years since she put a child to bed, five years to the day almost and in her heart was a painful longing. She missed the pitter patter of small feet running around, getting under foot and causing mayhem, the shrill of young voices squealing in delight as they were chased through the compound. A throbbing ache flooded her soul at the sight of children, at the sound of their laughter and sweet smiles. She missed her son, she had grieved for her son and had come to terms time and time again that he would never be back with them. She had been childless now longer than her dear sweet Hizashi had walked this earth and she was sick of it. Quietly she had made her way to Neji's study and just as she was about to knock on the door she heard her husband speaking in hushed tones.

"It'll be five years tomorrow, five years since I've heard your voice, seen your face, touched you, held you. My son, my boy…What I'd give to have you back with me, I'd give anything on this earth, anything." Tenten peeked in to see Neji staring solemnly at the photo of their son on his desk and brushing his fingers along the glass. Unable to take it any longer the brunette walked into the room.

"I miss him too Neji, but no amount of begging and mourning will bring our son back. Nothing you give will return Hizashi back to us." Tenten said softly.

"Do you always make it a habit to listen in on me?" Neji said, his voice still soft but much colder.

"No, do you always make it a habit to act so coldly to your wife?" hearing the hurt in her voice Neji looked away in shame.

"What do you want Tenten?"

"To ask you the same thing I've always asked you for the past two years now."

"The answer's still no." Tenten's eyes radiated pain as she looked to the ground hiding her tears.

"What if I told you I was pregnant?"

"I wouldn't see how, I haven't touched you since you first asked me." Neji said waspishly.

"You think I'm not aware of that Neji! Do you think I don't know that you're disgusted by me?" Tenten said hiding her face in her hands as tears spilled from her eyes.

"Have you been with another?" the Hyuga male asked softly, Tenten could hear the pain in his voice.

"Do you truly think so little of me? To think that I would ever be with a man other than my husband?" she asked softly.

"With how I treated you…I wouldn't blame you if you had."

"Well I _haven't." _ The weapons mistress snapped giving Neji an angry glare. "I miss my husband, I miss being with you, I miss having a family! Neji, having another child would never replace our son, he will always be our son, he'll always hold a special place in our hearts and soul, he'll always be our baby…but it's time to let him go, you're stuck in the past Neji, you're stuck in a past that can never be!"

"Don't say that!" Neji shouted standing from his chair glaring at his wife who glared right back.

"NO! You listen to me Neji! You live breathe and dream of our son and I can understand that! But Neji, you're living his life and his possible accomplishments through Hinata's children! Through your nieces and nephew! Do you think I didn't notice how quickly you took Minato under your wing, how you trained with him daily after our sons passing? Do you think I didn't notice how you spent so much time with Kazuki because she and Hizashi have the same laugh? Do you think I didn't notice how you stare at Aya's eyes because Hizashi's were the very same shade of lavender?"

"Tenten stop it!" Neji snapped walking around his desk in anger towards the brunette.

"I'm not saying that you need to forget our son, because as his mother I would hate you if you ever did! But Neji, you need to move on, you have a wife that needs you, that wants so desperately to be with you, that wants to have more kids with you and continue making a family with you but you just keep pushing me away…I can't do those things by myself Neji, and even if I could I wouldn't because it wouldn't be the same without you. You're an amazing father, you were an amazing father to our son and you're an amazing Uncle to our nieces and nephew but you can't live through them imagining them to be our son because you'll continue to hurt yourself by doing it that way."

"I said stop it!" Neji said angrily grabbing Tenten tightly by her arms shaking her once. "Stop. Just stop." He said panting watching as the tears streamed down her cheeks. They were close, closer than they had been to each other in years, Neji could see the wetness of Tenten's tears clinging to her eyelashes as she stared pleadingly up at him, the tremble in her lower lip as she panted heavily trying to keep from breaking.

"You need to let Hizashi go. He's not here anymore, he's not suffering anymore, just let him go, keep his memory in your heart always but let him go Neji. It's time to let him go." Her hands hesitantly rested on his chest and Neji felt the warmth she radiated, it was only then he realized how much he missed her touch, they hadn't been this physically close since she had asked to try once again for children, that day his anger had been almost palpable and he refused to touch her since always keeping an arms distance from her. Slowly, very slowly Neji's hands rose and rested on Tenten's as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"I'm afraid Tenten, I'm terrified that it'll happen again. I don't ever want to lose another child, losing Hizashi was bad enough I can't do it again. I would never be able to handle that pain ever, ever, again." Neji said in a haunted voice. "I just can't do it, I can't." Tenten blinked in shock.

"Neji is that what you think? You think that every time we have children they'll…they'll die? No…no, no, no, Neji no, that's not going to happen, it won't happen again it won't."

"How can you say that? How can you promise me that Ten? How?"

"I _can't._ By the gods Neji I can't." Tenten said in an agonized whisper. "That's the risk you take with having children, look how many people in Konoha have had kids, and that do have kids, we were just unlucky. The gods wanted our baby first and we need to accept that but do you really think they would rob us of our child again? Look what's happened to Hanabi, instead of her child her husband has been taken from her, look at Asuma, instead of his friends, his father and the one man he viewed as a father figure, stolen from him! And Aya, that poor girl, she's had so many near death experiences since she's joined ANBU, she's been through so many ordeals, I swear the gods are torturing the poor girl! We have nothing to lose and everything to gain if we try Neji, let's just try and see what happens. Please, let's just try." She whispered tears flowing freely. Neji crushed her body to his as he held her tightly.

"Ok…ok, we'll try." He said bringing his lips to hers and in the process finally realizing just how much he missed her.

O0o0o0

"_You know what 'Nabi-Chan? You may be scary as all hell and pissed off at me but I wouldn't change a thing about you, your angry attitude is sexy as hell." The blonde said with his easy going grin. Hanabi was pissed, their two year old toddler was racing through the house being a general menace which was not out of the ordinary, her chocolate induced sugar high however was._

"_AMON! You just let Aiko drink the bottle of chocolate syrup!" Hanabi shrieked._

"_Annnd?" Did he not see the flaw in his actions!? Hanabi put on her patient voice usually reserved for their daughter._

"_And, she hasn't been down for a nap yet, and she hasn't had lunch, which means she's going to be hungry after her sugar crash which means she'll be cranky, but she won't want to sleep because she'll be so wound up from the sugar! What the hell were you thinking Babe!?" Amon merely blinked._

"_If I tell you what I was thinking you'll hit me….I know you that well." He said softly wanting to avoid Hanabi's wrath, she was using the patient voice, and Amon knew he was in for it._

"_Well, what exactly WERE you thinking?"_

"_Honestly I thought it'd be funny to see her with a sugar high." He said simply watching as her jaw dropped, yeah he was screwed. Their daughter toddled around the pair and in a flash Hanabi snatched the chocolate covered little girl by her waist and placed her into the blonde man's arms. After taking in and releasing a deep breath Hanabi spoke._

"_I'm going to Anko sensei's for a few hours, and I'll bring home dinner on the way back. When I return let's talk about how funny it is to pump our two year old daughter full of chocolate syrup…and I expect you to clean up the mess she made as well. I love you both and I'll see you at 6." Hanabi said watching as Aiko threw up chocolate syrup onto her father. With a wave bye she walked out the door and headed to her sensei's house._

_O0o0o0_

Hanabi opened her eyes and looked around the dark room, she was feeling weak and sluggish, a very familiar feeling when she noticed the little blonde child curled up next to her. She was unintentionally activating her Kekkai Genkai again, it wasn't even something the little girl could control freely yet. Standing Hanabi walked from the room distancing herself from her daughter and as much as it killed her to admit it out loud the moment she exited the room she was feeling much better. With a sigh Hanabi walked into the living room and lay down on the couch, her hand resting on her stomach hoping, praying that this child wouldn't be like Amon…Deep down she knew it would be, this baby would be just like him in every way. It would be a blonde, just like him and it would have blue eyes just like Aiko and it would have his Kekkai Genkai. Closing her eyes Hanabi thought back on her pregnancy with her daughter, the chakra depletion began in the fourth month and only worsened as her pregnancy progressed. She had half a month to see if the child was as much like it's father as she feared it was. Closing her eyes once again she began to drift.

O0o0o0

"_Lost, they go so far away,_

_I am tossing and turning day by day,_

_My dreams are dashed and though I yearn,_

_My loved one shall not return. _

_Through the darkness though I gaze,_

_I see nothing but a dimming haze,_

_Searching with sadness in my soul,_

_Though all I know must pay the toll, _

_Shattered hearts and eyes that burn, _

_My loved one shall not return._

_Loving arms, extend hands_

_Reaching 'cross the distant lands_

_A father's love, a mother's touch_

_This knowledge I have craved so much_

_And here it is a lesson learned_

_It's in my death shall they return."_

"_Amon, what was that?" Hanabi asked softly leaning over her husband who was lying on the couch holding their daughter on his chest who was sleeping soundly._

"_Huh?" the blonde blinked his eyes open._

"_That song, what was that?" Amon blinked before recognition colored his features._

"_Yeah, that. It's a song from my village…it's the song of parting…Back when I was a kid my village was a place of chaos, parents dying, children dying, families slaughtered. It's about knowing that only in death will you ever see your lost loved ones again, that no matter how much you hope or search or dream only death will reunite you with the ones you love." The blonde said softly._

"_That's awful that you ever had to live a life like that." Hanabi said softly as her husband simply shrugged._

"_It's the cards I was dealt, no point in dwelling on the past, I have my future right here to watch and look forward to." Amon said smiling looking from Hanabi to Aiko as his hand rested on his daughter's back._

_O0o0o0 _

Temari lay quietly in the bed, she'd heard her niece sneak out of the building, she wasn't surprised, Naminé was very much like herself and if she was correct the teen would be back in the building before sunrise. She was like that with him when they first started out, as the baby slept soundly on the bed next to the blonde Temari couldn't help but think back.

O0o0o0

_It was all Shikamaru's fault, it always was but this time it really, really was his fault. What the hell kind of ninja trips over a bump in the carpet? Seriously? Well needless to say the resounding thump drew the attention of both her brothers who quickly made their way to the blonde's temporary room, and seconds after Temari kicked the brunette down and pushed him under the bed her door burst open and the blonde screamed covering herself. The second Gaara took notice of his sister's lack of clothing he turned right around and left the room, Kankuro however wasn't fast enough and in seconds was bombarded with copious amounts of ninja tools and whatever else she could get her hands on._

"_GET THE HELL OUT!" she screeched turning beet red as Kankuro scrambled out of the room slamming the door shut behind him in a haste._

"_My EYES!" Kankuro screamed making Temari scowl as she snatched up her abandoned t shirt from the floor and donning it._

"_You almost got us caught! You could have ruined everything." The blonde growled kneeling down to glare under the bed. What she seen shocked her Shikamaru was asleep under her bed. Surprised was an understatement._

'_I'm not sure if he just went back to sleep or passed out because of my brothers…Damn crybaby probably fainted!' Shaking her head Temari climbed into the bed and shut the light off, he could stay under the bed for all she cared._

_O0o0o0_

Temari sighed thinking back on that night, she missed those horribly fun times, almost getting caught was all part of the fun for her…she just…Temari couldn't help it as she blinked back tears. She missed her husband, he was a spineless crybaby sure, but he was _her_ crybaby. Closing her eyes the blonde delved into the land of dreams searching for the happiness stolen from her.

O0o0o0

"_You know, there's nothing in this world that will make me think any less of you for what you did Asuma. Things happen, decisions are made, and in all honesty no matter how well you plan…sometimes things just happen and you have to roll with it." Shikamaru said lighting up a cigarette as they lay on the roof of Asuma's house._

"_I know I can't plan for everything…but I feel like it's all my fault, it should have been me…it should be me in the hospital right now, not her…I don't think I have what it takes to do this sensei…I'm not fit to be a shinobi. I failed all of them." Asuma said softly shaking his head and sitting up. Aya had woken up from a nightmare that day in a delirious state and had almost torn her IV out of her arm, she had scared him to death. Shikamaru also sat up looking to the boy surprised and angry to hear these words from him, from others he expected this yes, but not Asuma, not __**his**__ Godchild not Asuma's son._

"_Listen, this isn't your first mission and it won't be your last. You're no coward Asuma so don't act like one. Act like the man I know you are, the man I helped raise because regardless of your presence there will always be missions, and there will always be shinobi to carry them out. Whether you like it or not they'll still send out your friends, family and lovers, just under a different leader. That's how these things work, and they'll all be no less likely to be injured or die then…But if you lead, maybe they'll stand a fighting chance, maybe if you're their leader…your friends will survive."_

"_But I-" Asuma said cutting his sensei off but the look Shikamaru gave him halted his words in their tracks as the shadow ninja stood towering over the red eyed male as he sat looking up at him._

"_No, you will listen to this. You survived now reflect on what happened and learn from your mistakes, perfect your faults and your next mission will be perfect…because if you really cared about your friends, your family…if you really cared about Aya, then instead of running away you would set your mind to improving yourself." Shikamaru said recalling the speech his father had given him after his first mission as cell leader for Sasuke's failed retrieval, hell it was almost word for word. _

"_You…you're right. I am acting like a coward, but not anymore, I'll learn from my faults and next time, I won't make the same mistakes twice." Asuma said standing to face his sensei._

"_Good, at least now I know I've taught you something before I split." The brunette said snubbing out his cigarette and lighting up another as Asuma looked at him curiously._

"_What do you mean split? Where are you going?" The red eyed teen asked._

"_I've got a mission with a few others, I should be back with in the week, if anything I'll definitely be back before the baby gets here, Temari would kill me if I ever missed the birth of our child." Shikamaru said shaking his head._

"_You even know what she's having?"_

"_Nope, but we're fighting about names right now so we came to a deal actually." If it's a girl she names it, if it's a boy I'll name him."_

"_Interesting, what'll you call him?"_

"_Temari's not saying yes to it yet, but I like the name Yahiko." The shadow ninja said with a shrug. "But anyways, I have to be off. I'll see you later Asuma." Shikamaru said ruffling his hair before vanishing in a cloud of smoke leaving the red eyed teen to ponder the advice given to him. _

_O0o0o0_

Asuma sat in the forest watching the Uzumaki home, namely the particular window of a certain blonde kunoichi, her parents had entered the room and after an hour or so they left her alone for the night. He was concerned, so much had happened to her in this one week alone and Asuma didn't know if she could take it, honestly he didn't even know how she could take it, with everything going on even he was overwhelmed. He had spoken with Ibiki and much to his annoyance he wasn't allowed in on the interrogation, or allowed to be part of it at all. It seemed Naruto was pissed enough to want only the best of the best to scar this man for life. He decided that he'd visit Aya in the morning in his ANBU uniform, at least then he could visit her without her fearing his presence.

**The thoughts of the heartbroken….so sad… however the story must go on! Next chapter will be up soon okies? Oh and the song of parting from Hanabi's dream just came to me one day so I guess the author of that would be me…. **


	26. Only Because I Love You

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 24

I Only Leave You…Because I Love You

The sun rose bright in the sky and with a yawn the bluenette stretched blinking his eyes open when he felt a piece of paper instead of Naminé next to him. Minato was wide awake in an instant and grabbing the paper he began to read the message.

_Minato,_

_Last night was wonderful with you, my only regret was that I had to leave before you woke up. I'm heading back to Suna very early this morning with my father, mother, aunt, cousin, and uncle so by the time you read this I'll have already gone. Thank you for what you did and didn't do, I've never felt so cherished or so loved. I'll miss you while I'm in Suna, and I hope you can come visit me. My Dad doesn't want me to leave for a little while so I won't be in Konoha for a few months, apparently in light of these recent events Dad believes I need more time at home. I honestly can't say it's not welcome, even though I love being with you I have been missing my family. _

_I love you Minato, please come visit me soon._

_Love Naminé._

With a sigh Minato folded up the letter and walking over to his desk put it safely away. This was not how he imagined the day starting out. Grabbing some clothes he walked from his room heading towards the bath house the same time that Aya exited her room. The blue haired teen paused watching his sister, something was off about her. The blonde leaned against the wall for a moment before heading to the bathroom. Minato shrugged, she seemed fine, maybe she was still tired…with that thought he headed down stairs to the bath house.

O0o0o0

Hinata was making breakfast in the kitchen when she heard the door open. Turning she watched as a flash of red hair bound over hugging her.

"Mom! Uncle Neji and Aunty Tennie aren't fighting anymore!" Kazuki said with a smile beaming at Hinata who stood in surprise.

"I'm happy to hear that love, are you ready for some breakfast? I made pancakes."

"Yum! Yes please!"

"Good, your father's in his office and Minato's taking a bath so go grab dad and Aya, she's still upstairs."

"Okie dokie!" the red head said happily skipping off, their father's office was in the library on the third floor so she decided to grab her sister first. Climbing the stairs and running over to her sister's door Kazuki knocked and stuck her head in.

"Aya, wake up sleepy it's time for breakfast." The red head said happily entering the room to nudge the older teen.

"Zuki-Chan, I'm not feeling good, I'm out for breakfast ok?" Aya said softly holding on to her pillow tightly.

"Nee-Chan are you ok?" Kazuki asked softly walking over and placing her wrist on her sister's forehead, she didn't feel exceptionally warm, though the blonde was shaking a bit.

"How have you been feeling?" The red head asked going into full on medic mode.

"Fine until this morning."

"What have you been experiencing?"

"Zuki-Chan I'm fine."

"Aya I'm not playing with you, now tell me. Dizziness, nausea, blurry vision, disorientation, difficulty eating and drinking…do you have any of those symptoms?"

"Dizziness and nausea…"

"Ok, let me see your wrist." The red head said and without waiting for her sister pulled her arm from under the cover feeling her pulse which raced under her fingertips.

'Her heart's racing, with dizziness, nausea, she has the chills, but no temperature from what I can feel.'

"Hold on." Kazuki said leaving her sister and walking to the bathroom and grabbing the thermometer she returned to her sister's room. "Open your mouth Aya." The blonde complied and Kazuki stood holding the thermometer in her mouth and as it beeped she glanced down her brow furrowing with concern.

'96.3, the average temp is 98.6 so she's running low. So with a racing heartbeat, dizziness, nausea, chills and a low temperature…what could be the cause for all that?'

"Aya I'm turning on the light." Kazuki said turning on the overhead light and brightening up the dim room making the blonde wince and pull the covers over her head. "You need to sit up."

"Zuki it's _just_ a cold or something, just leave me alone jeeze."

'Well we can add agitation to the list.'

"No, I'm not leaving you alone until I'm sure it's just a cold now please sit up."

"Fine but when you're done with your little medical exam will you leave me be?" Aya asked in annoyance.

"Yes." With a sigh the blonde sat up in her bed kicking away the blankets. Kazuki inspected her glands, had her sister open her mouth so she could check her throat and poked and prodded her sister until finally the blonde had had enough.

"Damn it are you done yet?"

"Just one last thing I promise." The red head said giving her sister a pair of pleading eyes to which the older girl succumbed to.

"Fine, fine." Kazuki lifted her sister's shirt to inspect her wound and stared in shock, it's not that the wound was healed that surprised her, it was the red blotchy color of the skin where the wound was.

"You can lay back down now." Kazuki said watching as her sister with seeming relief laid her head back on the pillow. "I'm going to my room real quick ok?"

"Sure. I'm going back to bed."

"Ok, rest but try not to sleep for right now I'll be back in a few seconds I want to ask you a few things." Kazuki ran to her room and grabbing her book she quickly flipped through the pages and found what she was looking for but to be one hundred percent sure she had to ask Aya what had happened to her wound before it was healed. Hurrying back to her sister's room Kazuki barged in.

"Aya just one question I promise and I'm done bugging you… Did you tear your stitches at all and if so where?" Kazuki watched as the blonde closed her eyes to think.

"Once in the hospital…I fainted and my stitches tore when I hit the floor, and once in the woods after…after…an accident, but after that I fell in the stream. Tsunade cleaned my wound after that and healed it with chakra so I couldn't tear my stitches anymore."

"Ok, I'll let you be for right now."

"Ok." The red head hurried from the room, she knew exactly what was wrong with her sister and they needed to get her to the hospital to be completely sure. Just as she hurried down the stairs the red head ran into her mother.

"Kazu-Chan I asked you to get your father and sister twenty minutes ago, what in the world took you so long?"

"Mom Aya's sick and I think she needs to go to the doctors." Kazuki said urgently.

"I know she's sick, she was clammy last night but I think your sister just needs some bed rest Hun."

"Mom, no, I'm serious something's really wrong with Aya, she's dizzy with nausea, she's running low at 96.3, she has the chills, a racing heartbeat, and she's got a weird looking rash hear her wound. I can't be 100 percent sure but I think she might have sepsis, that's a blood infection in wounds that enters the body and goes completely rampant. We either need to get Sakura sensei to come check her out or we need to bring her to the hospital, either way she'll need blood tests done to be sure. We'd have to check for elevated white blood cell counts, and because she's just gotten sick if it is what I think we can stop it before it can intensify." Hinata first looked surprised then shocked but nodded all the same.

"I'll go fetch Sakura, go get your father and let him know."

O0o0o0

"How did you even manage to do this to yourself Asuma?" Sakura asked as her chakra healed the gash on his arm.

"I've told you, team practice and I was distracted." The black haired teen said in annoyance, she'd asked the same question at least a half dozen times now.

"Listen it's not like you to get distracted easily so what's on your mind?"

"Everything, I don't want to talk about it."

"That's fine, but as your primary physician you really should tell me the things going on so if any stress related problems occur we can expect them." The pink haired healer said finishing up as the glow from her hands diminished. "So, how are you holding up?" she asked seriously.

"I don't know, my girlfriends been through the ringer and is terrified of me, my sensei and the man I looked up to as a father figure goes missing and is declared dead after finding several blood soaked objects in a demolished clearing, we have no lead what so ever, and today I get so distracted thinking about everything that I get stabbed in the arm with a windmill shuriken! How do you think I'm holding up?!" he snapped.

"Very poorly." Sakura said with a raised brow. "I'd suggest you take some time from ANBU so you can mourn your losses Asuma. Mourn for Shikamaru, mourn for what happened to Aya and come back in a week or two with a cleared head. As a matter of fact I'm putting it in writing and making it official, I'll be sending a letter to Sai to take you off of the ANBU rotation for the next two weeks."

"WHAT!?" Asuma exclaimed in shock. "Like hell you are my team has the least casualties they _need_ me!"

"I'm sure they can get along without you for two weeks Asuma."

"But-

"NO BUTS! Just do as you're told, most people would kill for some time off." Sakura said bitterly glowering at the teen.

"One week."

"Two."

"One and a half."

"Asuma don't make me make it three weeks." The Pinkette threatened.

"Fine! You tell me, what do I do for two weeks since I'm not allowed to be a shinobi?" frustration and bitterness oozing out in globs.

"I don't know, find something, I'm a doctor not your secretary go find something to take up your time. Jeeze. Once Sai gets this letter he'll be expecting you to turn in your mask for the duration of your leave so don't be surprised if he comes to find you. Now get lost I have other patients to get to." Sakura said shooing the irate teen from the room. Asuma stormed from the room and only got as far as the waiting room when Hinata rushed by startling him. He turned watching as she rushed over to Sakura, and after the two exchanged brief words and the Pinkette adopted a grave face he felt his heart plummet, especially when she glanced his way taking notice of him still nearby. After nodding Sakura hurried after Hinata as they both rushed from the hospital.

Asuma was torn, he wanted to know what was happening, that look on Sakura's face didn't look good, not one bit and fighting his better judgment he made his way to the Namikaze mansion. He watched in what one could call morbid fascination as the bluenette and the pinkette hurried into the house, he wondered what was going on, what had happened? Sakura very rarely makes home calls but if something was this wrong…At the moment he didn't give a damn, and walked into the house, Aya might be afraid of him but he'd be there for her, she'd know that he never stopped loving her, never, no matter what. When he made it up the stairs Asuma found Naruto standing in front of the door.

"Is she alright?"

"Sakura's handling it, it's just an infection."

"Is it serious?" Asuma asked watching as Naruto smiled, the smile never reached his eyes.

"No, nothing serious Asuma."

"I'm going to wait out here, is that ok?"

"Sure why the hell not?"

"Are _you _ok Hokage-sama?"

"Fine, fine, all's good and well here."

"Where'd Minato go?"

"Taking a bath."

"Does he know Aya's sick?"

"Would you like to tell him Asuma? By all means be my guest!" The black haired teen blinked in shock, he hadn't expected this kind of reaction from him, it took a great deal of stress to get the blonde this wound up. It was definitely worse than Naruto was letting on.

"She's going to be fine." Asuma said firmly making Naruto blink. "You know I'm right, Aya's tough she'll be fine."

"Yeah…she will, she will be fine." The blonde said nodding, he always got nervous when it came to his children being hurt or sick.

O0o0o0

The trip was long but when they finally arrived she had never been happier, she was home back in the desert right where she belonged. Beside her, her two brothers seemed to relax as they entered the hidden sand village, and even her sister-in-law who by birth was a Konoha native seemed to relax once they entered Suna. Temari looked over to her niece and saw a different story, she looked home sick…or was it love sick? Almost immediately Gaara and Kankuro headed to the Kazekage's tower leaving the three women to go to the Kazekage's mansion. Nia being the naturally warm and kind hearted person she was brought Temari to her room which after receiving a letter from the brunette had been outfitted with a crib changing table and dresser for the baby by the servants of the house. Immediately the blonde settled into her room laying her sleeping son into the cradle near the bed, and in an uncharacteristic fashion the blonde lay across the mattress and stared at her sleeping son. He was an exact replica of her husband. Closing her eyes she allowed herself to truly mourn for him, she was heartbroken and knew she'd remain heartbroken. If anything her own situation reminded her of Asuma and Kurenai, and the late Asuma.

The boy was a mirror image of his father, the resemblance was completely uncanny…and Kurenai, she never re married, she never dated because she never felt the need to do so. The black haired woman had the last piece of her husband growing inside her, just as Temari had. The blonde knew that she would never find someone to replace Shikamaru, she didn't want to. She wanted him and only him and that was that. She would mourn for him, mourn for her son who will never know him, and never forget the man she so desperately missed and loved unconditionally. Closing her eyes Temari prayed for peace and was soon overwhelmed with lack of sleep until it took her into its dream filled depths.

O0o0o0

"This girl is having nothing but bad luck and close calls." Sakura said crossing her arms as she finished up packing her supplies after giving the blonde a large course of antibiotics while Hinata stood by nervously. "It's amazing you recognized the symptoms so readily Kazuki, you should be proud because at this rate that you're excelling you'll be the next Tsunade, maybe even better than she is when it comes to medicine. Exceptional work, truly." Turning the pinkette faced Hinata. "I'll be back tomorrow to check up on her, I've left the basic necessities with Kazuki, she knows exactly what to do with them, so for the day she'll be acting as nurse for Aya. If any emergencies arise I want you to send word immediately on my hospital pager, Kazuki knows how to do that as well." Sakura said walking from the room with Hinata following, immediately Naruto and Asuma looked over.

"How is she?" the blonde asked while Asuma watched Sakura rapt with attention.

"She'll live, had it not been for your youngest daughter the prognosis may not have been as good. I'll be back tomorrow for a routine check-up. Asuma, I'm serious no exertion. Two weeks of time off starts now understood?" The teen scowled.

"Yes understood, I get it."

"Good. Naruto I'd like to speak with you regarding an important matter later on today. I know it's your day off and I know you take family time seriously but I wouldn't ask to speak with you if it weren't truly important." The blonde nodded and walked the pinkette out of the house while Asuma stayed behind simply gazing into the room watching as Aya slept. Hinata had gone down stairs and Kazuki had gone to sort through the supplies Sakura had left with her. Slowly he walked into the room pausing when the blonde mumbled something incomprehensible in her sleep. He continued forward stopping at the side of her bed, and leaning down he kissed her forehead knowing what he had to do. What he had to do for her, even though it hurt.

"If your feelings for me have changed…because of what he did, I understand, I do…But please…If anything please know…I'll never stop loving you…I have to leave. I promise I'll come back though…What I'm doing, Aya it's for you I promise I'll be back. I hope though that when I come back you aren't afraid of me anymore. Even though you don't say it, I can see it. I know that you're scared of me right now, but that won't change how I feel." He said softly leaning down to kiss the blonde. "I guess this is good bye for now then. I love you. Good bye Aya." Asuma closed his eyes tightly as he took a deep breath, turning he walked from the blonde's room without a backwards glace not noticing the bleary eyed blonde who watched him leave with tears in her eyes. Asuma passed by the red head in the hall not knowing she'd overheard what he'd said, she too had tears for both him and her sister.

O0o0o0o

Naminé sat on the edge of the balcony looking down at the villagers, so much was going on in the village and none of it interested her at all, if anything the beginnings of the festivities were starting to annoy her. She watched as Genin groups ran around with decorations for the rain festival, this was the time of year when the citizens celebrated the upcoming rainy season praising the gods and hoping for an abundance of rain to bring life to the desert once again, flowers would bloom, the cacti would grow much taller and the village's water reserves would be restored to their former glory. It was the deserts largest festival that started when the rains did, sometimes they waited for months for the first rain fall and when it happened the desert inhabitants celebrated. Naminé didn't know what it was but everything was bothering her lately, the noise, the sand, the dry harsh winds everything. Closing her eyes she teleported to the oasis, and squeezing through the rocks she entered the cooler damp area finding solitude in the silence. Using her sand Naminé blocked the entrance making sure that none could get in and disturb her. Taking this time alone she began to think about a bit of everything, her parents, her aunt, her uncle Shiky, the new babies from both her aunt and her mother, Konoha, and Minato. Thinking about the bluenette made the red head blush crimson, he knew her so well, mentally and physically, more physically because of the other night. She wondered if he'd write, that would be nice. Closing her eyes she drifted off to sleep.

O0o0o0o0

"Thanks for taking the time to see me Naruto." Sakura said sitting down in the chair across from the blonde.

"No problem, what's up?"

"Oh Naruto you're going to be mad at me…hell everyone's going to be mad at me." The pinkette said holding her head in her hand as she leaned back in her chair.

"Sakura what's wrong? What happened?" Emerald green eyes met electric blue.

"I'm pregnant." She groaned.

"What?! Whose is it?"

"Yours." She said rolling her eyes at the blonde. Naruto shook his head at her sarcastic comment.

"Sakura, please tell me that it's Lee's." Hearing this, her eyes watered.

"I told you you'd be mad at me."

"Sakura what did you do!?"

"We've been fighting lately and over a whole bunch of pointless foolish things, he yelled at me and I yelled at him and I stormed out and I went to the bar…"

"Sakura, you didn't go to Teme's bar did you?" One glance from the pinkette confirmed his suspicions. After his return to the village, Sasuke spent a good ten years in jail, was stripped of his shinobi status and had his Kekkai Genkai and chakra sealed, he was no longer allowed to be a shinobi. He'd opened up a bar and grill type food place and had been running it happily as a civilian ever since several years after his release.

"It might be Lee's right?" Naruto said hoping for the best.

"He hasn't touched me in months. I know it's not." Naruto groaned his head hitting the desk with a loud thump.

"Sakurrrraaaa…" With a sigh much louder than necessary he sat up all business.

"How far along are you?"

"Very newly pregnant, I just did the test before Hinata came to get me, I was with Sasuke last month so no more than that…what should I do?" she asked looking at Naruto pitifully.

"Have you told anyone else?"

"No."

"Well you do have options Sakura, you can either choose to keep it or terminate, you as a doctor know this but seeing as you're here I'll bet you're looking for a different option aren't you?" Sakura simply nodded.

"There's always adoption Sakura."

"I don't want to give it up though, but I don't want either Lee or Sasuke to know." Closing his eyes Naruto thought contemplating all of the options before finally coming up with possibly the most genius Idea that's come out of the office since Shikamaru had been there.

"What if you go to Suna?"

"What? Naruto I can't just run away I have a career here, my family's here, Konoha's my home."

"I'm not saying stay in Suna, I'm saying go there have the baby wait a few months to recover and then return with the child as your newly adopted child as the request of a single mother who died in childbirth. And to wrap this idea with the perfect cover story, you're there to make Gaara's wife's pregnancy easier and to help with any emergency situations, you know how risky pregnancy is for her, not only would you being there be the perfect cover story, but it would also be plausible. That and I know they'd appreciate the extra help."

Sakura stared in shock, this idea was brilliant and of all people it had come from Naruto, not that he hadn't gotten smarter and all but she still viewed him as the goofy kid she had grown up with.

"Naruto that's brilliant."

"And what's more, if you decide you want Lee to think it's his go get intimate with your husband before you go and since the kid will have either pink or black hair it'll make sense, we can always have their Kekkai Genkai suppressed. It's not something I'd want to do but should it come to that you know and I know that we can."

"When can we make this happen?"

"I'll write a letter to Gaara and see what he says, we'll have to inform him that you're pregnant when you arrive we won't say by who and we'll tell him we want to keep it quiet, but we'll let him know that you don't want to have the baby in Konoha, he'll understand. Trust me on that alright?" Sakura nodded, and standing she hugged the blonde across the desk.

"Naruto you have no idea how much you're saving me here."

"I have a pretty good idea. I'm not happy with what you've done and what you're going to do with Lee, if he ever finds out it would kill him so you'd better make it pretty damn convincing that that child is his. If it's a boy no duck butt hair, shave him bald for all I care, give him that stupid youth suit make a mini Lee and a mini, mini, Guy. I do know that the Sharingan is a dominant trait much like the Byakugan, but there's also a chance of your child not having it at all, Aya's a perfect example. Hope for the best."

"I will, thank you Naruto. Thank you."

"I'll have Ino take over since she's second best to you, I want you to take her on your normal routines, the earliest you will be leaving is a week. Understood?"

"Yes, completely."

"Good, do not screw this up Sakura, a lot is at stake here including your reputation and mine."

"I won't I promise."

"Good, we're done here then, before you leave on a different topic have you noticed anything unusual going on around here?"

"Yes, now that you mention it I have, the kids, your kids seem to….I don't know it's difficult to word it, we never had troubles like this at their age and we lived in much more dangerous times. Right now we're at a golden age of peace and prosperity between all of the villages….I think there's something going on. Have you ever gotten any information out of the man Gaara captured back when Minato was taken? And what about the man that went after Aya?" Naruto glared at the ground.

"No, he killed himself. Suna was no luckier with information, all we have are what the kids have said. Nothing more…and he escaped, I don't know how but he managed right under Ibiki's nose." Sakura nodded. "I'll keep my eyes out where ever I go. Do Hinata and Aya know?"

"Hinata does." He said softly. After a shared nod the pinkette left the room leaving Naruto alone in his office. Sitting in his chair he sighed, things had gotten so much more difficult for no good reason.

**What's Asuma up to? You'll find out soon. ** **Lol I just had to put some random drama in, what story would be a good story without drama on the side as well? Next chapter will be up later so Laters!**


	27. I stopped listening 8 minutes ago

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 24.5

I stopped listening 8 minutes ago

(Because she's my best friend)

"…And another thing you're such a damn jerk Asuma you should totally be appreciating my help, and on top of that…" They had been fighting nonstop and the entire time they had been heading towards the land of rivers Inami had done nothing but nag and nag and did I mention nag? The black haired teen hated to admit it but he knew Inami was onto something and if it could help Aya then he'd team up with her. She had told him what they were looking for and once she started droning on about appreciation, literally the second it went from 'This is what we need to help Aya' to 'You should soooo appreciate this' Asuma stopped listening.

The land of rivers wasn't far but what they needed were several ingredients for what she needed to make. Honestly Asuma had to give credit where it was due, not that he'd ever admit it to her, but Inami _definitely_ earned her title as Yamanaka prodigy, and due to the strong bonds between the Yamanaka, Nara and Akimichi clans they often shared knowledge which when taken proper advantage of could lead to an immense gain of information which the blonde definitely had taken advantage of. She had a theory and many before this one, and so far none of them had been wrong. With the ability to gain knowledge from all three clans the blonde had altered several Yamanaka jutsus to sheer perfection, and her next target was memory obliteration.

"…. HEY! Are you even listening to me? You do remember what it is we're looking for don't you Asuma?"

"I stopped listening about eight or nine minutes ago to be honest." He said watching the spiky headed blonde absolutely fume behind him. "But I know exactly what we need for the entire thing, not just for what we're looking for now."

"Fine then genius what're we looking for then?"

"Spotted river algae, the purple and red one not the green and blue, the root of Konoha's cave blossom, four different wild herbs which you failed to go into detail about, and fresh Nara horn not the dried stuff."

"Well at least I know you were listening. The four herbs are actually going to be the toughest to find that's why I didn't go into detail about them, they each have counterparts nearly identical to them which are poisonous so I'll be looking for the herbs, everything else I leave to you." The blonde said stopping. "I'll start on the southern border of river country, everything else needed is up north except the deer horn obviously. The searching along with the time it'll take to get back should take up your two week sick leave so you'd better not go and be lazy or I'll…." Asuma blinked watching her mouth move as she animatedly waved her arms going on for at least five more minutes. "You got that you jerk?"

"Huh?" Asuma watched as her face literally turned red.

"You son of a bitch pay attention you freekin bastard or I'll kick your ass into next week!" Finally Asuma had had it.

"You know what listen up Brat, I don't give a damn about anything else you have to say unless it directly has to do with helping Aya or has to do with this concoction that _will_ help Aya. I don't care that you want to kick my ass into next week, and I certainly don't care that you hate me with the burning passions of a thousand suns ok I don't. I don't even know why you hate me! You hate me and I hate you to a point. This is no time to be childish and this is certainly no time to fight over nothing so shut the hell up for once in your life!" Inami glared at Asuma with promises of pain and death in her eyes, but there also were tears there.

"You shut up Asuma! You're right I do hate you, I hate you so much! You're such a jerk and I have no idea what the hell Aya sees in you! All you ever did was steal her from me! You never did anything else for her when we were kids! Especially in the academy! She followed you around all the time and yeah you were nice to her but you never stopped the kids from picking on her or helped when she got into fights! I DID! You always did something after the fact but you never tried to prevent it ever! She used to call me her best friend and now she only calls _you_ that!" she yelled wiping her eyes with her arm still glaring at him. "Do you know how many times she blew me off to hang out with you, because I've lost count! I don't even know why I'm helping you! If I don't help you then she'll be too scared to be near you and then she'll hang out with me again and I'll have my best friend back!"

Hearing this Asuma blinked in utter shock, she wouldn't do that would she? No, Inami wouldn't do that, she cared about Aya too much to do that even if she did hate him…right? He watched as she stormed off in another direction.

"Hey where're you going?!"

"Screw you I'm going home!" Inami growled making Asuma gape in complete horror as she threw a smoke bomb on the ground allowing her to vanish from the area unseen.

"Shit, the only way to even help Aya is with her freekin help, what the hell have I done?" he groaned holding his head in his hands and wondering why he couldn't just keep his mouth shut.

O0o0o0o0

The blonde watched through the eyes of a hawk as Asuma went through a gambit of emotions ranging from ridiculously angry to absolutely depressed until finally he sat on the ground with his head in his hands. Releasing the Hawk from the jutsu the blonde opened her eyes and sighed.

"You bet your ass you're screwed without me Asuma." Inami muttered jumping from the tree where she was and made her way to where she knew the first of the four herbs would be. They wouldn't be hard to find, at least for her, hell she had a garden full of them all, the only problem was that for a stronger more potent medicine she couldn't use the same generic carbon copy of the herbs she grew. plants were always changing, adapting, the wild ones would be far more potent.

o0o0o0

It had taken her almost a week to collect everything she needed, and by the time she had everything collected the blonde luckily was already near the leaf village. She got everything on the list not caring if Asuma had done so or not, he could still be out there for all she cared, the damn friend stealer. Holing herself up in her room Inami stayed there putting together potential combinations of the materials she'd gathered until she'd found a solution, now all that was left was to try it out on someone and knowing the perfect test subject the blonde walked from her room and headed down the hall to her brother's room knocking on the door before pushing it open.

"Hey Chou, remember last week when you confessed your attraction to Shiomi Aburame and she rejected you hard core?"

"Ugh, why are you bringing that up?" The brunette groaned looking at his brown eyed twin.

"Well I'm messing around with mind jutsus and I need a guinea pig again. This one's for memory obliteration."

"So you're saying that you could wipe my mind clear of that incident?"

"Hopefully, none of the ingredients in the medicine that accompanies it are poisonous this time, I promise you that." The brunette let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Fine, let's give it a try." Standing from his bed where he'd been reading a book Chou followed Inami back to her room.

"Ok, now sit, take a shot of this." she said handing him the vial of her mixed ingredients. "Now I'm getting ready so try not to block off your mind ok?"

"Yup." He was used to this, though normally Inami would promise some kind of compensation for being a guinea pig, the compensation this time was losing that horribly embarrassing memory. To Chou it seemed to only take moments but when he blinked and looked around his sister was staring at him curiously.

"So do you remember what happened at all?" Inami asked curiously.

"Yeah you were practicing a jutsu to wipe away a memory."

"Ok, do you remember asking Shiomi out on a date last week?" he felt his heart skip a beat.

"I DID WHAT!?" the blue eyed teen shrieked.

"Awesome it worked!"

"Dude are you kidding me!? I asked her out!? What'd she say?!" Inami looked nervously at her brother.

"She turned you down, but she said she still wanted to be friends." Inami said softly placing her hand on her brother's shoulder reassuringly.

"Oh, I see."

"You don't remember it at all?"

"No."

"Well if you ever want the memory back I can get it for you, I had to see it to get rid of it."

"Nah I think if it was gotten rid of it must have been a pretty bad attempt."

"Yeah…it certainly wasn't your best approach." The brunette shrugged and stood from the chair.

"Oh, well I'm going back to my book. Same protocol as usual, let you know if it comes back?" Chou asked.

"Yes sir, and thanks for helping me out."

"No biggie." With that Inami watched her younger twin left the room as she reveled in her success, things were looking positive for this jutsu. Just as she sat at her desk to make note of this there was a knock on her door and her mother Ino walked in holding a box.

"Inami this was dropped off at the door for you there's quite a few strange things in here Hun, what're you up to?"

"Memory obliteration all of our T&I victims don't need those memories." Ino nodded in agreement watching as her daughter finished writing a small section in her notebook before turning to accept the box, opening it and looking inside. In the box were several jars of spotted river algae, a cloth bundle holding multiple blossom roots, a small canister of freshly ground deer horn along with a smaller intact horn, and with it all was a note.

_Inami_

_I figured that more than anything I owe you an apology, so I'm sorry. I didn't know that I stole Aya from you or was even stealing her from you. That wasn't my intention so for that I apologize, I also want to apologize for the constant bickering and arguments between us, I know I start them quite frequently. I hope that you found the herbs that you had originally intended to find when we started our search, they were the one thing that I didn't know how to look for or find without your help so I found what I was able to find given the very descriptive information you told me. I expect that you had taken the time during this week and retrieved the items yourself, but I also know that there is great trial and error when it comes to combining ingredients to create any kind of medicine so I took the liberty of completing my portion of the mission as I expected you to have done and will be dropping off everything I managed to get a hold of in hopes of easing your burden of creating the medicine. I'm sorry that our relationship has always been one of anger and hostility, and I hope that this makes it just a bit better and believe that maybe someday soon we can reach a point of ambivalence towards each other, even that would be better than holding hate and anger towards each other. Thank you for what you're doing for Aya, and thank you for finding the way for me to be able to help her, even if it's just finding things in the forest._

_-Asuma S._

"Well that was certainly…unexpected." The blonde said staring at the note.

"Who was it from?"

"Asuma." Hearing this Ino blinked.

"Why? You two get along like water and oil." She watched as her daughter looked from the note to the things in the box.

"That's mostly my fault Ma. I always loathed him, always. I was mean to him, always rude and sharp. I thought everything he was doing was intentional but…he didn't even know about it."

"Know about what?" Ino asked sitting down on her daughter's bed.

"Me and Aya were best friends but once he showed up in the picture he became her best friend, I thought he was stealing her from me on purpose. I thought he was stealing my best friend from me just to hurt me, but he didn't even know he was doing it and he apologized for it. Last week he asked me for my help, he knew I was working on the memory obliteration Jutsu and asked me if he could help so I agreed and we did nothing but fight the entire time."

"Sweetie, what I don't get is why he asked you for help if you don't get along?" The blonde asked tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she stared at her daughter waiting for her answer.

"Ma, he asked me about it because something really bad happened to Aya."

"I know, I heard about what happened at the hospital. I can't believe Kiba raised such a child." Ino said crossly but stared curiously at her daughter when she noticed the blonde teen shaking her head and looking away, realization dawned on her in an instant. "Something else happened? When?"

"During the ceremony last week." She said softly trying to hold back the tears pooling in her eyes.

"What happened?" As she asked Inami was shaking her head refusing to answer the question. "Inami answer me, what-

"It's something she needs to forget!" The teen answered in a choked voice no longer able to hold back her tears. "Aya doesn't need to live with this memory for the rest of her life she doesn't, she just needs to forget everything that happened! A-and I can make that happen, I was acting like a child fighting with Asuma, but I can help her, I just have to wait, I have to wait and see if it doesn't wear off of Chou this week then I know I'm off to a good start-

"Oh gods you're experimenting on your brother _again?_"

"It's nothing poisonous! And he agreed, he doesn't remember asking Shiomi out at all!"

"What?" Ino asked in shock, the Yamanaka clan had been working with the Naras for years to try and find a medicinal cocktail that would work alongside their mind jutsus.

"I did it. That memory of his is completely gone Ma I'm waiting to see if it lasts."

"Sweetie if it does, do you know what this'll mean to the clan? To the village?" her mom asked excitedly.

"I don't care what it means to anyone else but my best friend right now Ma."

"I know you can help her Inami. You're gifted, blessed by the gods with the strength of my clan. If it doesn't work this time I know you'll figure it out soon enough." Hearing this Inami nodded, all that was left to do was to play the waiting game, but in the mean time she had someone to apologize to.

"I need to go out, I have something I have to get done, I'll see you in a bit okay?"

"Yeah sweetie." Ino said placing her hand on her daughter's head. "I'm so proud of you." She said softly before walking from the room.

O0o0o0

Asuma lay in his room flopped on the bed, he'd just been to visit Aya and she freaked, he knew she would, he hoped she wouldn't but knew deep down that she would. The worst part was that it wasn't some huge freak out, she was trying to hide it, but the little flinches and winces every time he moved gave her away and it hurt, he knew that she wouldn't get over what happened in a few days that was a foolish thought to have but a part of him dared to hope that it was possible, and that part was crushed like an ant under a boulder. He'd gone after dropping the stuff off at Inami's house, he'd gotten everything she told him too and hoped, oh he desperately hoped, that she had gotten the herbs she said she'd get. More than anything while he was searching for all those ingredients he prayed that she hadn't gone right home, that she didn't hate him that much to completely disregard the love he had for Aya.

During that time he'd thought about what the spiky haired blonde had said, and he never knew he was stealing Aya from her, never had that been his intention ever and he felt terrible for it. He just hoped she accepted his apology. Ever since they'd gotten off on the wrong foot they'd each just antagonize the other until they were both blue in the face, at least now he knew why she hated him, and he could understand that. Asuma knew what it was like to lose friends, it always sucked, especially when they had once been so close. Asuma's thoughts froze when a knock came to his door.

"Asuma, you have a visitor, she's waiting downstairs in the kitchen." Kurenai said before leaving. Asuma pushed himself up off the bed making his way down the stairs only so stare in shock when he entered the kitchen.

"Hey." He said flatly to the blonde.

"I uh, I wanted to apologize for everything, and I wanted to thank you for collecting all of the ingredients…so I'm sorry and thank you." Inami said contritely making Asuma blink.

"It's ok, was it everything you needed?"

"Yeah, I have everything back at the house, and the results are looking good. I tried it on Chou and it works, I just need to see how it fares long term before I can give you a more definitive answer so if it hasn't worn off in a week we'll have a success."

"You got the herbs?" Asuma was shocked, he thought that she'd completely blow him off.

"Of course I did. I could never let her suffer like that."

"I'm sorry."

"I know and I accept your apology, and I hope you accept mine."

"I do."

"Good, naturally you have no choice because you need my awesome help to help our best friend now don't you?" Inami said with a smile offering the black haired teen her hand.

"Yeah I do." Asuma said with a reluctant grin at Inami's smile taking her hand and shaking it.

"Good now I'm going to visit Aya and see how she's holding up, have you been yet?"

"Yeah." Hearing the tone of his voice Inami frowned.

"Didn't go well?"

"She's terrified of me."

"Ahh…I'll see what I can do about that ok?"

"Thanks." With that the blonde left and Asuma stayed in the kitchen leaning on the counter with a sigh. He hoped more than anything that all of this would work out for the best.

**Next chapter will be posted Friday, I can't post next week so Friday is the day!**

**Kind of an Asuma Inami centric chapter, I felt I should explain why they always fought so much...anyways next chapter will be posted friday, Laters.**


	28. Minato's Mission

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 25

Minato's mission

The bluenette walked up the stairs, he was on a mission and stopping in front of his sister's room he knocked on the door. She had gotten over her illness in a few days after being treated, but in the weeks after she'd barely left her room. Finally receiving no answer and knowing she was inside because the blonde Yamanaka girl Inami had just walked past him with a slight wave, Minato opened the door letting himself inside the room. His sister was laying in the bed facing the wall not even registering his presence.

"Aya." He said softly listening to the silence.

"…"

"Aya I know you're awake."

"…"

"Will you please say something?"

"Something." She mumbled into her pillow.

"Well at least I know you're alive smart ass." The bluenette said with a scowl sitting on the edge of the bed once again listening to the silence. "Asuma hasn't been by in a while." He said softly.

"He came by today."

"Is everything all right?"

"It's fine…everything's fine." She said her voice breaking. "Really."

"Aya you aren't fine, I know what happened, I know what he said. I need to know if you're ok with this." He asked placing his hand on his sister's shoulder.

"N-no." she said taking in a shuddering breath and holding back a sob pulling the blanket tighter around her.

"Do you want me to bring him here so you can-

"NO! Please…" she said in a panicked voice.

"This is about what happened to you in the forest isn't it?" he asked softly placing his hand on her head. "I talked to dad, he said that the guy looked just like Asuma, that it was a transformation jutsu. Is that it? Is that why you're so frightened of him?" the bluenette asked softly running his fingers through her knotted blonde hair.

"I just can't stop it Minato every time I see him I get so frightened, I can't help it. I can't and I know it's not his fault, I know it wasn't him and it hurts. My heart hurts because I know it kills him every time I flinch at his voice. Every time I see him I start to shake and I can barely breathe." The blonde said with a sob as guilt overwhelmed her.

"Minato, I miss him so much. And I want to see him but I don't wanna hurt him again and I know if I do see him, I'll just freak out like I did today." Aya said turning to face her brother no longer hiding the tears. "I wish I could just forget, I don't want to remember it anymore." The blonde said unable to hold back her tears anymore. Minato continued rubbing her head as the blonde let go.

"I know Sunshine I know." Minato said "You have to be strong, I know you're trying but you have to try harder. Because right now…I can feel it Aya you're starting to give up, even if you don't intend to because you're afraid of what will happen, you're starting to give up and that's not you. Please just fight, just a bit more, a bit harder and a bit longer. Do that for me?"

"I'll try, I will."

"Good, now go take a shower, brush your hair and get dressed, you've been inside for weeks, and you're starting to look like a ghost, not like my little sister Sunshine." He said softly standing from the bed and walking from his sister's room after another pet to her head.

3 months later

"Ok Minato, that's your mission briefing, I know you haven't been on many solo missions but with everything I've taught you…" he said leaning close to his son and speaking in a whisper. "Especially the stuff your mother doesn't know about." The blonde said pulling back. "You're the perfect person for the job, there's no doubt in my mind that you'll pull this off any way other than perfect, I'll expect your report in a weeks-time understood? This will be a long term information gathering mission, once you receive word from me you immediately back out and ANBU will swarm in. Your main focus is to be on your safety, not the information, don't risk your life over mere words understood? Be safe." Naruto said to the bluenette who sat across from him in his in home office.

"Understood, and I will Dad. I'll pack my things and leave immediately." Minato said standing and walking from the office, passing his little sister in the hall and ruffled her long red hair as he made his way to his room. Grabbing his bag Minato packed some clothing and the money his father had given him for the mission. Grabbing his weapons holster he stuffed it with shuriken, wire, paper bombs, flash bombs, and kunai. Once it was packed instead of strapping it to his thigh he put it into the bag along with his headband and began covering them with the clothes and the small money bag. Grabbing his travel cloak he put it over his shoulders and grabbing the pack he leapt from the window making his way from the Namikaze house. The pack was relatively light, everything he'd need he would be buying along the way.

Making his way from the village Minato headed off in the direction of the former hidden sound village, rumors had been going around, rumors that the Hokage had found interesting enough to entertain the thought of…rumors of a traveling show who had found two men, one who could steal the life of the living, and another who had the power to wield shadows.

The first place Minato stopped was in Tanzaku town where he bought several outfits of women's clothing, paying the vendor he walked into the woods once again and when he was sure that he hadn't been followed the teen made several quick hand signs, which in his father's younger years the blonde was known for, for in moments standing in Minato's place was a young woman with long dark blue hair. Grabbing out the women's clothes from the bag he quickly changed shoving his to the bottom and pulling on the sweat shirt. Now he looked to be a traveling young woman, and thankful for his forethought the bluenette picked through the bag and grabbed one of his sister's hairbands pulling the long locks back into a tight ponytail. Standing he began walking once again heading in the direction of the former hidden sound village now known as Kimiki, where the troop had last been spotted. Minato's trip to the village was shortened by using his Byakugan, activating it he would run through the trees and upon spotting travelers he would leap down from the trees and deactivate his blood line limit walking along like a common traveler.

The trip to Kimiki had taken him the whole day, and when he arrived Minato was surprised to find the normally quiet and mundane place buzzing with activity, especially in the center of the small village where a rather large crowd of towns people and travelers had gathered. Minato could hear a man speaking as he approached the crowd being sure to completely suppress his chakra as he, still disguised as a young woman, moved to the front of the crowd to see the goings on.

There were tigers and bears men juggling and women doing acrobatics, and in the center of it all was a man who was giving off a strange aura that Minato immediately focused on, he seemed to be the leader of the performing troop.

"Now ladies and gentlemen as a special treat tonight we're going to put on a special performance but we need the help of a lovely young damsel…" his eyes scanned the crowd as he spoke and in moments they locked on to a pair of lavender eyes in the crowd almost immediately he grinned heading straight towards Minato who was cursing in his head.

"Hello my dear…" the man practically oozed pulling the bluenette from the crowd and dragging him/her to the middle of the area with him. "What pray tell is your name you young beauty?" he asked kissing the teen's hand. Minato fought the urge to gag.

"Mina." He said in a shy voice, knowing his part and playing it well, he'd done infiltration missions like this before, it was nothing new for him.

"A beautiful name, for a beautiful girl Mina-Chan, well everyone here we have the lovely Mina-Chan! Can we give her a round of applause for being such a brave young woman?" the crowd cheered and Minato scanned his surroundings warily looking for any sign of suspicious activity. "Now ladies and gentlemen what you are about to see may in fact alarm you however please know that our young volunteer is in no real danger…" Minato blocked the man's words out he was focusing on being as helpless as possible.

'I can't react, I can't react, I'm _not_ a shinobi right now, I cannot react to whatever happens.' Then Minato realized he was alone in the center of the area and looked around jumping at the sight of the tiger charging him. The crowd gasped collectively as the beast went to pounce on Minato who had stumbled back and had fallen in shock, at the moment he was cursing himself for tripping over his own foot. Suddenly the tiger froze and Minato sat stock still in shock, it was not that the tiger stopped that stunned him, it was that the shadow of the tiger was connected to a very familiar man who had appeared only thirty feet from him.

"Here ladies and gentlemen we have our master of the darkness, the shadow king! And our thief of life the Leech!" The troop master said dramatically as immediately the crowd cheered in a deafening applause and suddenly a woman screamed as another of the troops animals charged the bluenette in the center. Immediately Minato whirled around to see a bear racing towards him only for a familiar sword to impale the ground in front of the animal sending it to a halt. Quickly a blonde dropped from the trees beside the sword pulling it from the ground as he fought the bear with surprising grace and speed for carrying such a heavy weapon. Finally he warded the bear back into its cage and made his way over to the tiger which was still under the shadow wielder's control and placed his hand on its head. The crowd watched in awe as his hand began to glow absorbing the creature's life force. The shadows connecting the man to the beast were severed and almost immediately the tiger dropped to the ground. Together the two men bowed as the crowd cheered in amazement.

Almost mechanically the blonde walked over to the bluenette offering his hand to pull the teen from the ground. Minato stared into his uncles eyes curiously noticing how they looked dazed and fogged, however the moment their gazes connected the blonde's eyes widened and then narrowed slightly as his focus sharpened.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked quietly as the troop leader looked over waving and bowing to the crowd.

"Yes I know you well, meet me later. Hanabi and Aiko, remember those names." Minato whispered watching as yet again his eyes flashed in recognition as he closed them tightly. Immediately the bluenette pulled away however the blonde held his hand tightly.

"Who _are_ you?"

"We'll talk later, _not_ now." He hissed pulling his hand back and backing up quickly bumping into someone behind him. He whirled around in shock to find the troop leader smiling down at him.

"Now, now, young lady no need to fear The Leech, his powers are activated by his own will, he won't hurt you." Minato nodded backing away from the man who smiled down at him.

"Thank you for the exciting show…I really must be going."

"Thank you for participating dear Mina-Chan." He said with a smile to Minato. "Leech go mingle with the villagers." the man said in a sharp tone. Minato hurried away and once out of sight he dug through his bag finding a scroll and tearing a section from it and quickly scribbling a note he stowed his items away he hurriedly returned to the crowd and passing his uncle once again he stuck the note in his hand to the blonde's surprise and hurried off into the village.

Finding a place to stay the night was easy and after settling into a room Minato locked the door closed the windows and dropped the jutsu. Flopping onto the bed his mind buzzed at crazy speeds, his uncle and his sister's sensei were still alive and by the looks of it under some kind of strange jutsu as well, but it seemed that the information given to him was enough to loosen the hold of the jutsu, just the sight of the Hyuga eyes was enough to break it for the blonde. Closing his eyes Minato began to think and soon he was drifting off to sleep. Only seconds had passed and his slumber was broken by a knock to the door.

"Miss Mina-san, its Mrs. Taki the owner, dear you have a visitor." Minato wanted to groan in exasperation but after quickly transforming once again responded opening the door.

"Thank you very much Mrs. Taki-sama. I'll be right down." The graying woman nodded and walked down the hall. Minato followed the old woman and upon entering the main room was surprised to see the troop manager.

"My dear Mina-Chan what a coincidence to find you here!" Minato arched a brow.

"The hotel manager said I had a visitor." He said simply making the man's large grin slip for a moment.

"Ahh caught in the act, well my dear I must say that there are not many who possess such natural beauty such as yourself, you must receive proposals on a daily basis!"

"Sir, could you please make your point?"

"Right to it then. I would love it if you would join my troop! You could be part of Shadow King's and The Leech's act, you could be the great beauty in distress!"

'Oh jeeze, the damn guy wants to marry me…'

"I do apologize however my parents would not agree with me joining a traveling troop. I still live with them you see."

'But perhaps this could be the key to stick with the group and to keep an eye on Uncle and Shikamaru…'

"AH! You are not a fair beauty, but a fair maiden! Sweet darling girl run away with us!"

"I'm...I'll think about it…how long will you stay here?"

"Until tomorrow afternoon gorgeous girl, but for you I'll stay till the day after, we'll be leaving by noon so please choose us."

"I will give you my decision then."

"Splendid! Tell me is there a side you're leaning towards or-"

"You heard the young lady, her answer is no right now and that's that! Now leave the poor girl alone and give her time to think!" the old woman snapped. "Go on back to your room dear." She said shooing the Mina version of Minato back up the stairs. He made his way to his room and relaxed once again resting his eyes, and activating his Byakugan he looked around and finally spotted a lone man standing under the tree in the middle of the village square. Sitting up he walked from the room and exited the hotel making his way to the center of the village.

Minato watched as his uncle stepped from the shadows and with a quick jerk of his head Minato led him to a much quieter and less populated location. Finally they came to a stop and the blonde was the first to speak.

"Who _are_ you?"

"The better question first is 'what are you?' _WE_ are ninja from Konohagakure, you, me, and shadow king. You two went on a mission that went bad and you vanished for months. We thought you were dead. My name is not Mina, in fact, I'm not even a woman, I'm your nephew Minato Uzumaki." The teen said dropping the illusion. "Your wife Hanabi Hyuga is my aunt, and my little cousin Aiko is your child, you have a daughter and wife who miss you. Aiko's just like you uncle, she has the same genetic traits as you, your blonde hair and eyes like mine except they're blue. My aunt looks like me except she has brown hair. Do you remember?" Amon looked lost, and when he spoke he sounded it too.

"All I remember is life here, I have vague flashes of memories but none of them make sense, I see people I don't recognize, I can't name them and I feel as though I should…those names…those two names…I feel like I should know them but right now they mean nothing to me." Minato dug through his pocket and pulled out a photo of his aunt, uncle, and cousin together.

"This is your family." He said quietly handing it to him. The blonde took the photo and stared.

"I've seen her before…the little one, I always dream of her…except she's younger, no more than two or three but she's laying on me and I'm singing a song, it's a song that's important to me…it's from my family."

"What about Hanabi? The brunette?"

"That's her name…I see her in my dreams a lot too. Sometimes she's younger, younger than you even…and sometimes she's older…it's as if she's my lifeline. Lately, I've been dreaming of her, and she's in some kind of trouble, she's sick, and weak, it's like something's killing her."

"Uncle she's having another baby, you are having another baby. She found out about it a week before you were declared missing, just a few days after you left, she's six months along and it's worse than before, Aiko can't control her powers and neither can the baby, if you don't do something then they'll both die!" Minato watched as his uncle closed his eyes.

"'If a person outside of our clan that carries a child of a clansmen, it's the father's job to regulate the Child's Kekkai Genkai so their child doesn't kill the mother'…I told her that…I told 'Nabi that. Anko-sensei's gonna kill me for this." Suddenly the blonde blinked as if he'd suddenly woken up. "Anko-sensei…is a crazed dragon woman…Hinata-nee is my sister in law and she's married to Naruto who's the Hokage…and the Hokage sent us on that mission to investigate the information leak, and one of the guards…one of the guards is a traitor…we were outnumbered the last thing I remember is the explosion…Shikamaru was unconscious so I grabbed him and then there was an explosion…some kind of jutsu…I remember everything…I remember…I _need _ to get back to Hanabi!" the blonde said suddenly as he began to hurry to the gate.

"Hell no! Not right now, you're part of some traveling weirdo circus freak show thing! Besides we need to get Shikamaru, he's still there. You need to go back and try to wake him up, try to jog his memory do something, tell him about Temari, bring up babies, he had a son! Temari had a son and she named him Yahiko because that was the name he had wanted, talk about Asuma and Aya! They need him and I can't do this without you." Minato said keeping the blonde from running as he held him in place.

"Fine, how long have you been on this mission?"

"It'll be two days and dad's expecting my report next week, he'll be stunned to learn that I've found you both so soon."

"Alright. I'll head back you go write up the report to your father and I'll try to jog Shikamaru's memory, we'll discuss things over a game of shoji."

"Good plan, I'm heading back to my hotel now. Please be safe uncle, we can't lose you both again." Amon looked to the ground, then looked up with a determined face.

"You won't, I promise." With a nod shared between them they each went their separate ways prepared to do their part.

O0o0o0

Aya had just finished training in the yard and walked into the ANBU center, she had been quiet these last few months, there was almost no contact with Asuma, and as much as being around him frightened her, she missed him terribly. She didn't know how to overcome the fear, she wished she knew but she didn't. The blonde had once again taken up missions and had been out with her ANBU team for more than a month now on missions of varying difficulties. Often she would work late at the ANBU center in hopes of at least seeing Asuma there but every time she was disappointed just like today. Just as she was about to leave a hand came down on her shoulder and she recognized the form of her team leader who motioned for her to follow as he walked through the center.

"Another mission?" he shook his head.

"Boar wishes to speak to you, she just returned from her own mission."

"Ok, thanks I'll go find her." Aya walked through the ANBU center making her way to the locker room finding Boar exactly where she expected her to be dropping her supplies off. Pausing in front of her Boar looked over at her and straightened up.

"We're the only two people in here…Aya I want to help." The blonde blinked in shock the moment her name was mentioned and stared in shock as the woman before her pulled off her mask.

"Inami!? You're in ANBU?" Aya said pulling her own off as the brown eyed girl grinned.

"Chou is too. Like I said I want to help. These last few months you've been miserable and I think I can fix that, but you have to be willing to let me see everything, it's like any other Yamanaka jutsu, I can't go in blind you know." She said softly taking her friend's hand. Aya closed her eyes tightly.

"Inami, I can't see it again, I just want to forget everything that happened."

"I know, and I'll make it so." Hearing this Aya blinked.

"What?"

"I figured out how to completely obliterate memories, it took a few tries but I did it. My mother's family has been working on this jutsu for years in a way to help torture victims get over their mental trauma but it can be used for other things as well." Aya closed her eyes thinking hard and pulled her best friend into a hug.

"Inami, I can't. Not until I get over this fear I have of Asuma."

"But Aya, why? If you do this now you won't even have a fear of him." Now the lavender eyed girl smiled just a bit.

"Because if I do this now and something happens and those memories come back, I'll still be afraid of him, but if I wait…If I wait and all of this is done and then something messes it up, then I'll have those bad memories, but I'll still have no fear of Asuma either."

"But Aya…"

"I'll do it, but not now, it has to wait. I love that you've done so much for me, and I don't want to wait, trust me I don't. But this is my choice and it's what's best for me even if I don't like it, especially since it lets me have the love of my life in the future." The lavender eyed blonde said pleadingly hoping to make her friend understand, and it seemed that it worked for Inami sighed and shook her head.

"Ok, but the moment that happens, the moment you know you're ok to be around him, bring him to me and I'll judge that, you know how I know you. And if it's as you both usually are I'll do it in a heartbeat." Hearing this Aya hugged the blonde hard.

"I love you so much for being willing to do this for me."

"Hun, you know that I'd marry the hell out of you If I were a guy." Inami said making Aya laugh.

"I know, you're so dumb."

"I know, but with my best friend I'm allowed to be, just like you are with me." The brown eyed girl said smiling at the blonde as she pulled away. "If you aren't pulled in for a mission do you wanna hang out tomorrow, I felt like we haven't in years."

"I'd love to." Aya waited for Inami to finish putting away her mission belongings and doing the same herself, after putting on their masks, the two walked from the locker room, but before they could leave Aya was once again stopped by her team leader Wolf who hurried over to them.

"Tigress, you and I have specifically been summoned by the Hokage. Go get ready." Nodding Aya took off towards the locker room to get changed again.

"Did everything go well?" Asuma asked Boar however shook her head.

"She wants to wait, because if she waits she gets over her fear of Asuma, if I do it now and it fails, she'll still fear him and she's determined to overcome it. I don't know how she'll do it, but she will." Asuma nodded, waited for Aya and when the blonde finally returned they made their way to the Hokage's office to meet with their leader who sat behind his desk.

"I've requested the two of you specifically because of how well you both work together, this may come as a shock but there have been rumors that the believed to be deceased Nara Shikamaru, and Natsuki Amon are part of a traveling group. As ridiculous as this sounded I sent a shinobi to investigate and they have sent immediate reports back to me already confirming these rumors, it seems that they had been place under some sort of mind controlling jutsu, your jobs are to retrieve our men and make sure my son comes home safe as he is the shinobi I have sent out on this recon mission. Is that clear?"

"Hai." They chorused at the same time before hurrying from the room. Aya was ecstatic, her sensei, and her uncle were alive, she wanted to tell Asuma, but now was not the time she had to bring them home first. Hearing those words come from Naruto's mouth almost made Asuma drop to his knees in happiness, his sensei, the man he looked up to as a father, he was out there somewhere, and they were going to bring them back or he'd die trying. The pair made their way from Konoha and headed in the direction of the former hidden sound village where they would meet up with Minato.

**See, I'm not that much of a horrible person put down the pitchforks! Please? Good, thank you =) next chapter will be up soon. Laters. **


	29. Love Conquers All

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 26

Love Conquers All

Minato had convinced the troop leader to stay just one more day in Kimiki village and it had been less of a pain than he had expected, anything he could do to give the two ANBU time to get here before they left was worth it at the moment, especially since he had found them so early in his mission, the sooner this was over the better. It seemed that the Jutsu cast on Shikamaru was stronger than the one on his uncle for the blonde was having trouble dispelling it, nothing worked, not names, not descriptions of loved ones, nothing. It seemed that they'd need something to jog his memory, something different. Minato paced around the village still in disguise waiting for the signal of the ANBU who should be arriving some time shortly. Moments later he felt the slight flare up and sudden suppression of chakra and quickly made his way to the gates of the village where he was met with the two ANBU.

O0o0o0

The plan was set, while Minato would distract the troop leader Wolf and Tigress would swoop in and get Amon and Shikamaru out of there, easy as pie right? Maybe. Something about the aura of the troop leader still had Minato on edge, he had studied the man repeatedly with and without his Byakugan trying to find the source of his unease with the man, and it wasn't just because he was using some kind of mind controlling jutsu on his uncle and sister's sensei either, it was something more, the entire troop seemed to be under his spell, they all seemed to have some kind of special power or talent. The bluenette vaguely wondered if every person in the group was a shinobi of some sort…as creepy as it sounded he was keeping that possibility wide open, but if that was the case why did he ask him to join? Around the man his chakra had always been suppressed and he was unaware of his shinobi status, or was he?

O0o0o0

Night had fallen and it was time for the plan to begin, the troop was on the move and Minato was up ahead talking with the troop leader keeping his attention away from the members of his group. Wolf and Tigress watched as the troop passed and with careful aim Aya tossed an acorn and watched as it hit her uncle's head, and as he looked up she felt her heart swell, it really was her uncle. Quickly she signaled to him and watched as he discretely nodded. Right now her excitement was palpable, if her uncle was here truly here then her sensei had to be as well. Asuma scanned the group, there had to at least be twenty people, then he spotted him, and clenched the branch tightly. His sensei was alive. Quickly he nudged Aya and pointed hearing her soft gasp.

The blonde had slowed falling to the end of the group where Shikamaru was and activated his Kekkai Genkai. Slowly draining away his energy and watching as the still controlled brunette began struggling to keep up. Once the group was a good distance away Aya and Asuma dropped down, and quickly both supporting their sensei the pair jumped away, the blonde right beside them as they hurried away.

"Have you been able to put some kind of dent in the jutsu?" Wolf asked the blonde man who shook his head.

"No, I've done all that Minato told me to do, bringing up names memories I don't have pictures and I think maybe the sight of someone familiar will jog his memory, like his wife or his students."

"We can fix this, we'll bring him back." Asuma said quietly. Suddenly the Shadow master's eyes lit up in a glowing green as he quickly began flipping through hand signs both ANBU recognizing the pattern jumped back, Aya pulling her uncle as she leapt away as the shadows around them burst into life in the shadow stitching technique.

"Shit! Can't you knock him out?" Wolf said dodging as one of the living shadows stabbed at him looking over to Amon.

"I can't, if I do any more I could kill him!" Almost immediately a malevolent chakra filled the area.

"Did you think I did not notice my strongest pair slipping away?" The man asked his hands glowing the same color green as the eyes of their sensei as he made Shikamaru attack once again.

"What the hell can we do?"

"We need Minato to knock him out!" Aya said narrowly avoiding one of the shadow tendrils that shot her way. Almost as if on cue the bluenette bowled the troop leader over with a well-placed blow before locking up the brunette's tenketsu leaving him unable to use his chakra. Grabbing Shikamaru he leapt over to the two ANBU and his uncle.

"You three get out of here." Wolf said watching as the man once again stood. "We'll take care of him. GO!" Aya watched as the three disappeared into the night before turning to face their opponent who pulled out a whip that was imbued and pulsated with his chakra and immediately lashed out at them. The blonde dodged to the left running and ducking behind a tree as the whip lashed out at her with a loud crack. She could see chips of bark and wood fly and knew that a hit from that whip would do a good amount of damage. Summoning two clones to shoot off to the left and right of her position, Aya snuck up the tree pulling shuriken, wire, paper bombs, and flash bombs from her pouch as she leapt silently from tree to tree setting up her attack.

Asuma had known the plan ever since he'd watched the two clones run over and attack the man he was currently fighting with, he knew that the second those shuriken came raining down he needed to back off and close his eyes or he'd probably go blind from the flash bombs. The moment the shuriken came flying from all directions Asuma jumped back, but not far enough to avoid the whip which sliced across his torso cutting through his armor like a hot knife through butter and left a long bleeding gash in its wake as he screamed in pain.

A blinding light filled the area, and a loud explosion was heard. The shuriken had been strung together with razor wire and attached to them were paper bombs, and with Aya's fast thinking their enemy was no more, but hearing the scream she knew that they weren't out of the woods yet. Quickly she found her teammate and dug through her bag pulling out bandage rolls and gauze as she quickly patched him up, it would have to do until they could get to a more secure area…this place was far from safe. Pulling his arm over her shoulders Aya moved as fast as she could.

"Let's go, you aren't dying today, we just have to find a place to rest so I can heal you, ok?" he simply squeezed her arm in response grunting in pain. After about a half mile or so the blonde found a cave, they were near the mountain side, close to home but right now they needed to stop. She pulled him into the cave as far back as she could to avoid being seen, and just as she did he sagged to the ground making her heart race in panic as she laid him down and turned him over.

"I said no dying damn it!" she said in a panicked voice pulling the armor away from his chest and placed an ear against it listening. He was still breathing, and his heart was still beating a strong steady yet panicked rhythm. This flooded her with relief, he was alive, he'd just passed out. Quickly she pulled the supplies from her bag grateful that in those three months she'd been training with her little sister to learn a few healing techniques. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of the cave as she prepared to put her new found knowledge to work. Taking her kunai she cut away the shirt at the seams, she would not move him again in this condition, and reaching for the antiseptic and the canteen she washed out the wound before sterilizing it and after steadily going through hand seals she healed as much of the area as she could manage leaving only a red line as proof of the injury.

The sun was starting to set and now that he was out of danger she walked from the cave grabbing several branches and dried grass to start a fire. Walking back she set up the small fire and quickly got it lit brightening up the area, and with the much needed light Aya decided to check her handy work. The wound was indeed healed, if anything he'd end up with a faint scar at the most. She gazed at what had been the wound and suddenly something caught her eye, a familiar scar just below his ribs. Seeing this her breath caught in her throat as she tentatively touched it wanting to be sure that this was no trick of the light, and as she felt the scar on the pads of her fingers she immediately looked up to face him, her hand reaching towards his mask. Taking a deep breath she removed it as her heart wrenched, it was Asuma, _her _Asuma, and she'd almost lost him. Quickly removing her own mask the blonde scooted closer to him her hands tentatively touching his face stroking his cheek and feeling stubble under her fingertips as they ran along his jaw.

"I've missed you, I've missed you so much." She whispered.

O0o0o0

Something was touching him, he was tired and sore as all hell and something was touching him, his face. He wanted to open his eyes but they felt heavy, slowly, slowly they opened, he was groggy, and his vision was blurry, but he recognized the face only inches from his as the hand continued to stroke his cheek.

"Aya?" he said softly as she simply smiled at him, her watery eyes shining with love as tears fell nonstop down her cheeks.

"Welcome back." She said softly. "I was worried about you." She said pulling him close and pressing her lips to his forehead.

"I'm dreaming, I have to be dreaming…If this is a dream I never want to wake up." He said softly closing his heavy eyes and falling back into the darkness, he was tired, so, so, tired. Aya breathed a shaky sigh of relief, he was going to be ok. Hours passed while Aya kept watch in the cave, checking Asuma every now and then for any signs of fever or sickness related to his injury, she was doing so when he woke once again, and unable to stop herself Aya kissed him, she was so happy he'd woken up that she just couldn't help herself. Asuma was surprised when he felt soft lips brush against his and almost immediately he responded kissing her back feeling that familiar spark. Finally it was the blonde who had broken the kiss.

"I've missed you, Asuma I've missed you so much, this isn't a dream I'm here, I'm right here." She said remembering his previous comment and bringing her lips to his again.

"I love you…I've never…stopped loving you…never." He said between kisses pulling her down and holding her tightly against him feeling her body flush against his. "I left you to make you happy, if I wasn't around you wouldn't have to be afraid."

"Me either, I never stopped loving you either. You're so stupid, don't leave me alone again please, please Asuma don't do that to me again, I love you." Hearing this he paused.

"Say it again."

"I love you."

"Again."

"I love you, I love you, Asuma I love you so much." She breathed, his lips claiming hers once again.

"I'm not dreaming?" he asked kissing the blonde long and good once again parting only when the need for air was too great.

"No." she panted feeling as her body trembled in happiness, this was real, it was all real, and for the first time in months she wasn't afraid. Knowing she'd almost lost him made any fear of him she had completely trivial.

"Tell me to stop, Aya." He said breaking the kiss and pulling back, he could feel his body reacting to her touch.

"No, I won't break Asuma." The blonde said pulling him down to meet her lips once again, right now his every touch was like a much needed breath of air, she couldn't get enough of it.

"Tell me to stop before I _cant_." He pleaded kissing his way down her neck as she panted heavily beneath him, he could feel his self-control draining away as she pushed her hips firmly against his grinding into him and relishing in the much needed friction. "Aya_ please._"

"I don't want you to stop, I want you, I just want to be with you. I'm yours. Always. Touch me, please." She whispered pulling his hand from its spot on her face and settling it on her waist before running her nails down his back making him groan, kissing her harder as her nails raked across his back again. Meeting her tongue with his own, Asuma deepened the kiss he'd missed her, her touch, her smell, the sound of her voice…it wasn't just the sex either, that was great but the last three months had been hell for him, they had never voluntarily been apart for so long, the emotional distance killed him, the physical distance was torture, for she was so close yet so far away, his only reprieve had been sleep where he could dream that all was well again.

His hands wandered, touching her face and slowly moving down her body kneading her breasts and making the blonde pant heavily as she arched her back pushing her breasts into his expert hands. He kissed the blonde hard, his wandering hands never going below her belly. To Aya though, something was off and after a moment she realized what it was.

"Asuma, will you look at me?" she asked softly feeling a pang in her heart as he shook his head, he hadn't looked at her the entire time, either closing his eyes or avoiding eye contact by hiding his face in her neck as he continued to kiss her. "Why won't you look at me?" she asked softly.

"I'm afraid, I know I'll wake up, being with you, even just holding you like this, I know I'll wake up if I look up at you because it's too good to be true, or it'll be one of my nightmares, and if I look up you'll be crying and afraid." He said softly his fingers caressing her skin as he spoke.

"Please, just look at me." She asked softly feeling a lump growing in her throat, "If you don't I'll end up crying anyways." Slowly, very slowly his face lifted and their eyes met making the blonde smile as relief flooded Asuma's features. "Thank you." She said tilting his face farther upward as she kissed his lips loving the taste and feel of him.

"I've missed you, gods Aya, I have missed you." He said allowing their lips to meet once again.

"I've missed you too, I missed us, I missed _this. _Just_ being _with you like this, feeling you close to me, hearing your heart beat, I've missed everything Asuma, I missed it so much." With that admission the blonde could no longer hold back her tears. "I'm so, so, sorry Asuma, I'm sorry. All of this is my fault, everything you're feeling now is all my fault, it's because I'm so stupid!"

"Aya, please it's not your fault and you are not stupid, don't ever say that about yourself." He said firmly wiping away the torrents of tears that made their way down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, but I hate how I made you feel, I hate that I hurt you so much but I couldn't help it, I tried so hard to fix it but I couldn't! And seeing your scar after I'd healed you, once I realized it was you, you who had almost been killed….all of my fear vanished because I was so happy you were ok, that you were alive and with me."

"Aya no, don't cry, I'm fine, I'm right here and I'm perfectly ok I promise, don't cry for me, not for me. I love you Aya, I do, please don't cry anymore." He said holding her tightly, finally after she settled down they lay back down nestled together, the blonde curled up next to the onyx haired teen, her head under his chin as he held her tightly against him. Aya was the first to fall asleep, and before he let sleep claim him Asuma hoped with every fiber of his being that this truly was not another dream, after all it certainly wouldn't be the first.

O0o0o0

Asuma woke to the sound of rustling, opening his eyes he could see the sun shining brightly and pushing his sore body up he watched as Aya was packing her supplies with her back turned to him, and when she turned around he felt disappointment flood his soul, she was wearing her mask, it was all a dream, it had to have been.

"I'm glad to see you're awake, now that you're up we can go find Minato, Uncle, and Shikamaru sensei, right Asuma?" he blinked in shock and Aya waited wondering why he was so quiet. "Are you ok?" she asked removing his mask and placing her hand on his forehead and checking his eyes.

"I'm…I'm fine."

"Good, I'd have more to worry about if you weren't" Aya said removing her own mask to give him a quick kiss before replacing it on her face and handing him his own.

"It wasn't a dream?" he asked softly making the blonde pause.

"No, it wasn't why?"

"Everything feels so surreal. You and me together again…I never thought it would happen."

"Well it did. Everything's going to be ok. It took me a while to adjust but I'm ok now." The blonde said softly.

"Good, I missed you." Aya smiled behind her mask feeling her heart swell at his words.

"I've missed you too."

"I love you."

"I know, and I love you. Now get up we have to meet the others. Work before pleasure as they say." She said tossing him his bag.

"That motto didn't really apply last night." Asuma said trying to get Aya flustered about their make-out session.

"There's always an exception to the rule." She quipped back cocking her head to the right as she stared at him. "Come on, up up up!" blinking he nodded and did as he was told, it wasn't a dream, it was real, this was real, and he couldn't have been happier.

**Yay they're together again, the next chapter makes me happy :) hope you liked it**


	30. Reunions

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 27

Reunions

_Dear Hokage-sama _

_Everything has gone according to plan with the rescue. We're stopping in Konoha to replenish our supplies and receive any needed medical treatment. The group has met up with the ANBU and they will be escorting Natsuki Amon back to Konoha first, then they will return and bring Nara Shikamaru to Suna, dispelling the jutsu on him is proving to be difficult and were hoping the presence of his wife and child will be enough to release him. Updates will follow when we arrive._

_Minato _

They had met up with the ANBU after a few hours and Minato watched as his uncle was escorted away by the female ANBU, who had taken the message, as they headed towards Konoha. Luckily for them the former sound village was close to home. The trio of Minato, Shikamaru, and Asuma headed towards Suna so they could hopefully spark the Jonin's memory. Aya bound through the forest, her uncle by her side as they hurried towards Konoha; she knew her aunt wasn't doing so well, the baby just as she feared was like its father and big sister.

O0o0o0

Hanabi was tired, it was the worst it's ever been, and even Aiko hadn't taken this much chakra during her pregnancy. She lay on the couch feeling light headed and dizzy and barely able to move, her daughter was home and it seems that the newly turned five year old understood that being around her mother was not such a good thing. Right now she was playing, well to her it was playing giggling as she watched light blue pathways light up through her hands and arms, and finally the color stayed and the child looked around the room curiously seeing various house plants lit up with life. However in her fun Aiko saw something confusing, she saw her mom, and she saw a bright glowing ball in her belly, was that the baby? Curious the blonde little girl walked into the room and looked at her mother who also had glowing blue pathways; they however were starting to fade as the baby grew brighter.

Something deep inside of her told the girl that she needed to place her hands on her mom's belly, it was almost an impulsive reaction and Aiko watched as the blue stuff from the baby slowly dispersed back to her mom and began flooding her pathways once again. Aiko simply stood watching the baby and keeping her hands on her mom's belly. It was a strange sight to see, first the baby took some of Aiko's blue stuff, and then it gave some back, then took more and gave it back again. It's like they were trading blue stuff, Aiko didn't understand what exactly was going on, but the little girl knew that somehow it was helping her mom.

Hanabi slowly opened her eyes feeling better than she had felt in months, it was like she took the power nap of the century, she actually felt quite like her old self before the pregnancy. Looking around she noticed her daughter standing less than a foot from her with her little hands on her belly.

"Baby what are you doing?"

"Helping!" the girl said happily smiling at her mother who stared in shock at her eyes; Aiko had managed to activate her Byakugan.

"Are you seeing any differently?" Hanabi asked knowing the answer and feeling so much pride for her daughter.

"Yes Mama, I see blue stuff now."

"I see that 'blue stuff' is called chakra, that's what makes something live. Every living thing on this earth has chakra."

"Chakra? That's a funny word. The baby was taking your blue chakra stuff but when I put my hands on your belly it gave it back and now it's taking mine, and giving it back and taking it again and giving it back again…" she said with a giggle. "It's like a game." Then suddenly the girl pouted. "Awww, the baby doesn't wanna play anymore." Aiko said quietly. This made Hanabi smile as she sat up pulling her daughter close and hugging her tightly, the little blonde didn't know it but she had just saved her mother's life.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be playing with the baby again soon enough." Just as she was about to suggest going to visit Anko there was a knocking on her door and the blonde quickly ran to answer it, Hanabi following her daughter after struggling to stand with her large belly.

"Mama! A ANBU person's here!" Aiko said letting the ANBU into the house. Hanabi entered the kitchen facing Tigress who entered the house.

"Can I help you?"

"May we speak privately?" Hanabi's brow furrowed and she glanced to her daughter who looked expectantly from the ANBU to her mother.

"Aiko, go to your room and get dressed, we're going on a walk in a little bit." Hanabi said as the girl quickly complied. "Were alone."

"Please sit, in your condition it would be best." Aya said motioning to the table and watching as her aunt sat.

"I've just returned from a mission, a recovery mission. There were rumors of two of our shinobi declared dead were alive and well outside of the village. They were controlled by a powerful jutsu that had brainwashed them. One of these men was your husband. He is alive and currently with the Hokage informing him of what happened. I believe you and Aiko would be the first people he wishes to see." Hanabi stared in shock.

"Please tell me you aren't lying, please."

"Family does not lie to family Raven." Tigress said with a small smile as she watched recognition appear in her aunt's eyes. Only a handful of people knew who Hanabi was in ANBU and almost immediately the brunette was up hugging her niece tightly knowing exactly who was under the mask.

"This is why you haven't been around? You've been on this mission?"

"Yeah, but he's home Aunty, they're both home."

"I'll make sure Aiko's ready; you're here to bring us?"

"Yup, go get her, Uncle's excited to be back so hurry up because he's as impatient as always." Hanabi hurried from the room and soon appeared with her daughter in tow.

"Let's go!"

The brunette was excited, she knew her niece wasn't lying, she never would, not about something so serious, her husband was home, he was safe and they were going to be together again, a family all again, all together, she couldn't get to the Hokage's tower fast enough and she could barely do more than waddle in her heavily pregnant state. They hurried along, Aya piggy backing Aiko and Hanabi leading the way growling when they entered the Hokage's tower and she was met with all the stairs. Scowling the brunette began climbing them two at a time panting for breath when she finally arrived at the landing, Aya in tow and her daughter looking around curiously.

"You ok?" Aya asked slightly concerned as her pregnant aunt leaned against the wall for a moment.

"Fine, I'm fine." She panted wanting nothing more than to sit down, instead she pushed off the wall and walked towards Naruto's office knocking on the door and then opening it. Opening it she spotted him, his hair was a bit longer, he himself was a bit skinnier and overall he was filthy, but he was home.

O0o0o0o0

He'd just finished telling Naruto all of what happened, including their arrival at the gates when there was a knock on the door and it was opened making him stare in shock, they weren't lying when they said she was pregnant for her belly was noticeable under her dress, hell it was in the room before she even stepped foot in it. Amon watched as she stared in awe, her eyes welling up before overflowing as she launched herself at him, the blonde already up and meeting her embrace as he held her tightly in his arms, as close as her prominent belly would allow.

"I was so afraid that I'd never see you again, they said you were dead. Oh Babe, I missed you so much!" the brunette sobbed holding on to him never wanting to let him go, he was here, he was home and everything felt so much like a dream.

"It's ok, I'm home, I'm right here and I'm not ever going anywhere ever again, I'll be right here with you and the kids always. Speaking of kids where's Aiko?"

"She's in the hall with the ANBU that brought us here." Hanabi said reluctantly releasing him smiling as his hand rested on her belly, the blonde smirked at her.

"Prepare for double trouble soon." This made her laugh and slowly she followed him out of the room just in time to see her daughter's face light up with joy as she ran towards him.

"DADDY!" she squealed as he lifted her from the ground and held her tightly as the small blonde nuzzled him, she'd gotten so big in the time he's been away, she'd gotten taller, and her hair was much longer than before, her baby talk which had still been evident when he'd last been here she had officially grown out of using full and proper sentences. She'd grown so much and it was choking him up. "I missed you Daddy, and Momma was sad, she was so sad, but you're home now right?" she asked hopefully looking at her father.

"That's right I'm home, and I'm not leaving like that again, never ever again I promise." He said kissing his daughter's head as he held her tightly walking over and pulling Hanabi into his arms as well.

"Just so you know, we're finished here so you're free to go home." Naruto said with a smile watching as the blonde man gave him a grateful look as he led his family from the office. Naruto was happy for them so happy and he wondered what was going to happen in Suna, then a thought struck him, he'd forgotten to send word to Suna that the men had been found. Quickly grabbing a pen and paper he hastily wrote a message explaining everything and hurried to the aviary on the top floor.

O0o0o0o0

They made it to Suna in a record two days for the black haired teen and Asuma wondered, more hoped than anything else that Naruto had thought ahead and sent word to Suna so they wouldn't be too shocked when the shadow ninja arrived. First things first were to head to the Kazekage's tower, they needed to see Gaara before anything else and with Minato's help they easily headed in the necessary direction. They had been walking for only a few moments when a blonde caught Asuma's eye. There were plenty of blondes in Suna, so why in particular this one stood out was a mystery, then he realized why when he met her shocked dark green eyes, her hair hung around her neck instead of being in its usual pigtails, and had her son not been tied to her chest he was sure that out of pure shock she'd have dropped him just as she had her bag of groceries. Immediately she be-lined towards them and instead of doing anything a normal woman would do like smile and hug their missing husband Temari punched Shikamaru square in the face sending the unaware brunette right to the ground.

Without missing a beat she pulled her son from the papoose and handed him to Minato who knowing his life depended on it took the still sleeping infant without a word and watched in shock as she straddled the shadow ninja keeping him on the ground as she punched him again and again. Asuma had no idea what the hell to do, on one hand the shock of the attack by of all people his wife would probably wake him from the mind jutsu, while on the other hand Temari might just kill him. His worry turned to relief as she began crying and her punches turned into slaps.

'At least she's not going to kill him, though he'll definitely be hurting tomorrow.' The black haired teen thought with a wince sharing a glance with Minato who looked nervously from the blonde to Asuma as he held the child securely in his hands. The commotion had drawn a crowd.

'Crap, Temari's pissed, I don't know what I did but I probably deserve it. Jeeze why does this troublesome woman have to punch so hard?' he thought clenching his eyes shut as his head rocked from side to side from each blow. 'Ahh slapping's no better; she sure knows how to spread out pain when she wants to. I'm so in for it, I'll probably get hit with her fan if I stand up, she plays dirty enough to hit you when you're down but not dirty enough to kill you when you aren't fighting back.' Then he felt a drop of wetness land on his face followed by another and a third, unlike the slaps this made him flinch and he opened his eyes wondering if the desert's skies had finally opened up, it seemed too early for that. Then he saw it, the sight that startled him, Temari, the one person who he had never seen cry ever had tears pouring from her eyes as she continued to slap him each time letting out a sobbing grunt as her hand made contact with his face. He immediately knew that whatever he had done intentionally or not was serious, for Shikamaru could see nothing but agonizing pain in her eyes and as her arm which was reared back to strike again came towards him the shadow ninja caught her wrist and pulled her close using his free hand to push her head into his neck he whispered into her ear.

"I'm sorry, I have no idea what the hell I did but Tema, I am so sorry that I hurt you." His words made the blonde bawl as she held onto him as tightly as he was holding her. 'What the hell did I do?' and in the way only she could, Temari answered his unasked question.

"You were gone Shika, you were gone for so long…I thought you were dead, they said you'd died in the ambush, we all thought you were dead." It was then he noticed that the blonde was completely pressed against him, there was no trace of the round pregnant belly he'd last seen her with and it startled him, how long had he been gone?!

"What happened to the baby?"

"He's fine." She breathed taking in his scent and the sound of his voice, these were things she thought she'd never again experience in the living world. "Yahiko's perfectly fine, Minato has him right now. He looks just like you Shika. I was so afraid of being alone, of doing this alone, I don't know how I managed for so long without you."

"How old is he?"

"Just under four months, it's been three months…three months and twenty-three days but who's counting right?" she said allowing him to sit up right while she remained in the same position her face buried in his shoulder. His face hurt, it was no secret Temari hit hard but he didn't care because the pain he felt, Shikamaru knew that his pain was nothing in comparison to hers. "Do you want to see him?"

"Yeah." he said nodding as the blonde slowly stood helping him from the ground. Turning she faced Minato who offered the blonde her child and she smiled at him taking the infant gently in her arms before turning to face her husband.

"Shika, this is our son." Without hesitation the brunette reached for his child holding him as if he were to break at any moment staring at the boy in awe, this was his son, his child whom only months ago he'd been waiting on the arrival of so impatiently, and now he was in his hands, so beautiful and perfect. Shikamaru held his son close kissing his head as he did so successfully waking the child who had slept through his mother's brutal assault on his father. Bright hazel colored eyes stared into brown and Yahiko tilted his head from side to side as if assessing his father and finally he snuggled his little head into Shikamaru's chest and with a yawn he went back to sleep.

"You named him what I wanted?" he asked softly.

"Nah, made a few changes…His name is Yahiko Shikaku Nara." The blonde said smiling at the sight of her husband holding their son. Brown eyes met green.

"After my father."

"He was a great man. I knew you'd agree with me on that."

"He's beautiful, perfect." Shikamaru breathed.

"Well he's just like you, sleeps all day and is very smart. Come, let's go to the Kazekage's tower, and afterwards you can go buy me new groceries.

"Can I carry him?" Shikamaru asked as Temari looked at him strangely.

"I did for nine months on top of the three and a half you've been gone, it's your turn." She said taking the white silk sun cloth from the papoose and covering their son with it, her arm locked with his as they made their way to the Kazekage's tower.

**This chapter had so many feels…lots of strong emotions, it's one of my favorite ones. =)**


	31. Festivals and Hangovers

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 28

Festivals and Hangovers

The Konoha ninja had been there for only four days when the rains finally arrived in Suna, when the clouds above darkened that afternoon the celebration of the Rain Festival began. It was a festival that dated back to the very beginning of the village, and being the daughter of the Kazekage had its perks, though Naminé had to get dressed up in the traditional celebratory garb of her father's clan, the perks definitely outweighed the cons of the revealing outfits she, her aunt, and her mother had worn. Vendors offered the red head free samples of this and that, and everywhere she turned something was being placed in her hand by a smiling celebrating Sunagakurian. Minato was close by Naminé, and being recognized as the son of the Hokage he too was given samples of everything under the sun, from roasted meats, to candies, to even sake. The bluenette couldn't take his eyes from the red head by his side. Her top was made of silk and was halter like showing all of her stomach wrapping around her back where it was tied securely in place. In the place of her normal black capris were silk ones to match the top in color, and around her hips instead of the red scarf her mother had given her was a sheer glittering black one, her ninja shoes were also replaced with traditional leather sandals. The outfit the red head wore was beautiful and turned heads where ever she went, and this made Minato stay by her side like white on rice, what the bluenette did not understand though was the cultural aspect of it. It was not the outfit itself that was turning heads, but the color of it, her clothing was a rich shade of red which in Suna meant very clearly that Naminé was in a serious relationship which her father approved of, more importantly it meant she was off limits to anyone wishing to keep their lives.

He and Naminé walked hand in hand through the crowded festival, the redhead showing him village customs and cultural games that were different from his home village. What she was most excited about though were the drinking games, she couldn't take part in those the previous year for the age limit for drinking in Suna was different than in Konoha, while once you attained ninja status in Konoha you were considered an adult and could do what you wanted, the only ninja in Suna that could drink had to be chunin rank or above or had to be over the age of 21, and Naminé was definitely a chunin.

The fee to play the games were not as much as the bluenette was expecting and only joined in because Naminé begged him into doing so not wanting to drink alone, and seeing how they were at a festival he gave in with a shake of his head and a laugh at how easily the red head could get him to do things. The first few games he had won as they were simple who could drink it all first games, Minato winning every time, the others were what killed them both, the object of the game was to toss a coin into a cup, and the number on the inside of the cup was how many shots that the coin tosser had to take. They each played several rounds and finally were forced to quit when the vendor shooed them off to allow others the chance to play. They walked out into the rain heading towards another booth both a bit tipsy as they made their way through the crowd of festival goers laughing happily as they went.

O0o0o0o0

Naminé was aware of her headache before her eyes even opened, her head was pounding so hard that she didn't even want to get up, but she had to pee. Squeezing her eyes tightly the red head climbed out of the bed and walked to her bathroom stepping on the clothes on the floor and most certainly not caring that she did wondering vaguely what the hell had happened last night that made her head ache and that made her body sore like it was. Feeling her way into the bathroom the red head reached for her panties and actually opened her eyes in shock when she realized she was wearing nothing.

'What the hell? Did I get too hot and take my pajamas off?' Naminé thought. It had happened before so she wouldn't be too surprised if that's what it was. With a yawn she grabbed her bathrobe and wrapped it around her chilly frame and opened the bathroom mirror taking out the birth control pills her mother had given her months ago. After the incident, and after the almost sex with Minato Naminé decided she definitely did not want any children in the near future, especially the accidental kind. Swallowing the pill along with some Tylenol for her head and after finishing up her girly business Naminé walked from the bathroom looking for pajamas only to stare in shock at the bed as everything suddenly clicked into place. The sight of Minato naked in her bed was one thing, but the sight of her pale green bed sheets stained with blood was a completely different level of shock, it was official even though she remembered none of it, they had sex and the sheets were proof of it. That definitely explained part of why her body was so sore. Grabbing a fresh pair of underwear and some clothes from her drawer Naminé dressed quickly before walking over nervously to wake Minato, shaking his shoulder and rousing him from his sleep.

"Mmm…What are you doing here?" he asked looking at the red head curiously blinking the sleep away and growing concerned when he saw the nervous look on her face. "Naminé what's wrong?"

"We're in my room and my parents are home." She said softly. Minato understood the concern ever since they started dating all of those sleep over/hang out nights had been put to a stop, he knew her parents would be mad about him sleeping over.

"We'll just do what we did the last time, I'll leave through the window it's not like we…" his sentence trailed off when he noticed Naminé glance down at the sheets looking uncomfortable and looking down he stared in shock.

"Holy crap…Did we…?" again his sentence trailed off as Naminé nodded. "Did I hurt you? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine really and no I don't think you hurt me, I just don't remember much of anything to be honest. I remember the festival then we started playing those drinking games and it's all blank from there." Minato sighed for a moment before blinking his eyes wide.

"Please tell me we used a condom."

"I don't know, but I've been taking birth control pills since I got back after the funeral." Hearing this, the bluenette flopped on the bed in utter relief.

"Thank the gods. Your parents would have killed me."

"Yeah." She agreed softly.

"Do you regret it? What we did?" Minato asked softly. Naminé didn't even hesitate to answer.

"No, I don't. My only regret is that I can't even remember what the hell happened because I drank too much. But I'm worried Minato how am I going to explain this to my parents." She said gesturing to the sheets and handing the bluenette his boxers so he would be decent.

"We'll think of something- His quiet words were cut off by knocking on Naminé's door and immediately they both paled, Naminé gesturing for Minato to get under the bed which he quickly did.

"Gimmie a minute!" the red head said just a bit too loudly throwing all of Minato's clothes under the bed with him and quickly answering the door to face her aunt. "Hey auntie what's up?" Naminé said with a smile as her aunt wandered into the red head's room and sitting at the desk chair.

"Sweetie, lock the door Minato get out from under the bed." The blonde said making Naminé pale significantly more than she had done previously as she closed and locked her door.

"Minato, just come out." Naminé said in defeat, her aunt was too smart to trick with something like this, hell her entire family was but it was worth a try. Slowly the bluenette stuck his head out from under the bed skirt looking nervously at the blonde.

"Her father's looking for you Minato."

"Why?" the bluenette asked sounding much more nervous than he'd intended.

"He wants to thank you for finding and saving his brother in law, also a letter came from your father for you. That's all I swear, he doesn't even know you're here." The relief from both teens was far too obvious and it made the blonde laugh. "Go take a shower and meet him at the Kazekage's tower around noon ok?"

"Yeah."

"That's in a half hour so you'd better get going." With a nod and a shared glance between him and Naminé the bluenette quickly dressed and left the room kissing the red head on the way out. "So, what are you going to do about those sheets?" Temari asked pointing to the bed Naminé forgot to cover up and making her pale once again.

"I don't know." With a smirk Temari stood.

"C'mon mini me, let's go, and grab your entire bed set by the way." The blonde said walking to the door as Naminé scurried to her bed pulling everything off it from the comforter to the pillowcases and following her aunt from the room. "So how was it?" she asked making her niece blush.

"I uhh, I really don't remember, I drank too much last night."

"There's a trick to remembering when things like that happen, just go from where you last remember." Temari said leading her niece to her room where there was a washer and dryer for the baby's clothes and blankets. Putting her things in the washer the red head closed her eyes sat at the edge of the bed and thought back to the last thing she could remember.

_Flashback_

_They made their way through the crowded streets and the red head paused watching as a group of men played instruments, one played a Kinnor,(A harp like instrument) the second a Sitar(another stringed guitar like instrument), the third was beating away at the drums, the fourth playing the tambourine, and the fifth played a flute. All the men were seated around the fire they had managed to keep ablaze in the pouring rain creating an exotic rhythm which many festival goers were dancing around the fire to. Naminé recognized the drummer as her dance teacher from the ninja academy Kumitsu-sensei. The man spotted her immediately and motioned the red head over, and after having had a few drinks Naminé had no qualms about showing off. With a smirk at Minato Naminé bound through the crowd the bluenette following stopping at the edge of the crowd as the red head paused in front of the drummer bowing to him, her school etiquette taking over. The drumming slowed signaling the others to drift off into silence._

"_The dance most sacred of the festival, the tribe of heavenly Kami, you remember it?" the man asked and suddenly the crowd was buzzing and Minato was just confused._

"_Hai Kumitsu-Sensei, I remember it well."_

"_Very good, as expected from you. Matsumi, give our dancer the chimes…" Minato watched with ever growing curiosity as members of the group in the center began swapping instruments as the crowd watched in anticipation._

"_Hey, what's so exciting?" the bluenette asked an older woman beside him who looked close to tears._

"_It is said that only the blood heiress from this village wields the power to bring rains that will bring life back to our lands. The Kazekage's family lineage can be traced originating back to the creation of this village. All of them are blood descendants of the original creator and leader of Sunagakure. The dance of the heavenly Kami has not been done by a blood heiress for almost sixty years. The last person who had done it was the sister of the second Kazekage, after her only sons had been born into the Sabaku house until the birth of Lady Temari, there were hopes for her however our dear lady's grace is only known on the battle field."_

"_But how would Naminé know the dance if it hasn't been done in sixty years?" Minato asked._

"_It has been passed down step for step through generations of the Kumitsu clan, bringing us to this moment. Watch child, they're starting." She said as once again the group began with a slow melody, one to relax the crowd and Naminé who had become tense anticipating the upcoming event, and quickly the first song ended as the crowd became settled. It started out with the flute and was soon followed up with chimes reminding the bluenette strongly of the rains as slowly the red head began moving, her arms moving down and out, a representation of the rains bring her land back to life. Naminé danced along with the music, slowly serenely following the soft rhythm of the sitar and the flute. Suddenly there was an upwelling in the music and the red head moved faster twirling and flowing with the music letting it move her as she leapt into the air in an elaborate twist landing gracefully as she fell into the next steps of the dance, the chimes on her ankles jingling as she moved around the fire swaying with the music, which once again slowed as Minato stared wide eyed. She was gorgeous falling into synch with the melody as it increased and decreased, moving faster as the tempo increased. Spinning, twirling as the notes of the chimes raced higher and higher pitched in the rain as droplets of water flew from her body and finally the music slowed once again as Naminé's movements slowed matching the rhythm with slow measured steps before dropping into a low bow her arms out wide welcoming the rain as the heavens above them opened up, the crowds erupting in applause at the sudden downpour. Naminé panted heavily tilting her head up as the rains washed over her cooling her heated body._

"_Naminé, you did very well." With a smile Naminé faced her former teacher._

"_Thank you Kumitsu-Sensei." The red head said crouching down and removing the chimes on her ankles before handing them to the burly man. He smiled accepting them before embracing the teen. He always had been her favorite teacher._

"_You make me proud to be a teacher seeing my lessons brought to life like this, now go and enjoy the festival." Naminé smiled happily._

"_Thank you for allowing me to participate." She said bowing to her teacher who returned the gesture. Naminé walked from the fire towards Minato and took his hand as he pulled her close._

"_You were beautiful." Naminé simply blushed and leaning up she kissed him wrapping her arms around his neck as Minato held her closely caressing her face._

"_If I knew complimenting you would get me a kiss I'd do it more often." He said with a smirk as the redhead released him taking his hand and leading him back into the crowds as once again they joined the festivities._

_End flashback_

"I danced, I remember dancing." Naminé said softly looking at her aunt who grinned.

"Hell yes you danced, and it was amazing by the way, your uncles, father, mother and I caught it just as it began, Kumitsu taught you very well, you should be proud of yourself. Now what do you remember after dancing?" Temari asked pouring extra detergent into the washing machine letting it run an extra cycle.

"We went back to the festival…" Naminé said holding on to the memory of she and Minato leaving the dancing people and music players behind.

_Flashback_

_They stopped by another booth playing a few more drinking games, the red head relishing in the chance to do adult things during the festival, the games were fun, and the people were inviting her to play, how could she say no? After the fifth round of tossing shots, the point of the game being the opposite of the other one where the coin chose the number of shots the opponent had to drink Naminé knew she had to stop, she wasn't slurring her words or anything like that but she was starting to get light headed which went away when she stopped moving. The red head took a breather watching as Minato played a few games with other Suna shinobi before walking over to her, he grabbed her hand and as they made to go to another booth the large crowd prevented them from doing so, and__ pulling the red head close Minato stepped into the opening of an alley to allow the larger groups to go by as Naminé held on to his shoulder leaning against the bluenette trying to keep balance, ok maybe she was a bit more tipsy than she thought she was. _

_The crowds cleared enough as people ran by getting out of the rain, but the two just stood there in the pouring rain staring at each other, Minato's hand resting on her bare waist heating her rain drenched skin with his touch, and Naminé's resting on his chest clutching the fabric. The atmosphere between the two shifted, charging neither wanting to give into the feelings they felt. Minato didn't want to act on those riotous emotions he had, he wasn't so drunk that he would push her into something she didn't want, he would never let it get that far, but the blue haired teen couldn't deny that watching her dance had turned him on big time. He wouldn't act on those feelings, the teen refused to, if anything were to happen he wanted her to want it. That was how he felt until finally Naminé leaned up kissing the bluenette feeling as his arms wrapped tightly around her body giving in and pulling her close to him as he kissed her back. _

_Grabbing Minato's shirt the red head pulled him back into the shadows until her back was pressed up against the wall as she kissed him fiercely, one arm winding around his neck, and the other still holding onto his shirt slid down and around grabbing the pant loops at his hip she jerked him towards her as he kissed her back hard. Getting the gist he pinned her to the wall with his hips making the redhead groan softly into the kiss as she wrapped her leg around his hip pulling him closer to her._

"_Where? Your place or mine?" Minato breathed kissing her neck and pressing against her at just the right spot to make Naminé gasp as the rain continued pounding down upon them. _

"_Here, now, I don't care." She groaned feeling his hand holding up her leg as once again he pushed against her. The bluenette didn't know the streets of Suna well to begin with, let alone know them at night and drunk so using his Byakugan he scoped out the most vacant streets and made his way towards the red head's house grabbing her hand and pulling her along the vacant streets. He checked the house with his Byakugan before they entered and was happy to find that it was empty, and the moment they were inside with the door locked behind them Minato had Naminé pressed up against the wall as he kissed her hard, moving from her lips to her neck making Naminé gasp out his name as he found that one spot on her neck that made her melt. In reaction to her breathy gasp the blue haired teen pulled her towards the stairs, their lips never parting. The moment they hit the landing to the second floor Naminé pulled Minato to the floor as she crashed her lips against his moaning as his hand palmed her breast through the wet material, the other cradling her head as he kissed her hard, his tongue dominating her mouth. The moment her legs wrapped around his hips Minato scooped the red head up and flew up the stairs making it to the third floor and down the hall in only moments, and entering her room he kicked the door shut, setting the red head on her feet and locking the handle with a resounding click. _

_He turned back watching as she pulled her wet top over her head and kicked her sandals off and did the same tossing his shirt across the room with Naminé's, and once he did so, Minato grabbed the red head and lay her down on her bed climbing on top as he kissed her swollen lips making his way down her neck and sucking gently on her pulse point making her moan loudly and gasp as his hand made its way between her legs now rubbing in slow circles. Naminé groaned panting hard her hands quickly unbuttoning her capris as she pushed them and her panties down her legs as far as she could, Minato pulling them the rest of the way off kissing her body as he moved down it before tossing them aside just like they did their shirts, his hand going back to where it had been previously making Naminé pant harder at the skin on skin contact. With his free hand the bluenette reached behind the redhead and unclipped her strapless bra, Naminé tossing it away and pulling Minato down to meet her lips kissing him, she reached for the zipper of his pants, fumbling with the button as she unzipped him. Slowly one of his fingers entered the redhead followed by a second pumping them in and out of her Naminé's hips soon matching the rhythm of his hand. She was close, so close when he stopped quickly removing his own pants and boxers before returning to her, crushing her body to the bed with his own, kneading her breasts and kissing her neck, leaving the red head wanting and slightly frustrated as his fingers grazed along one of her more noticeable scars before moving along the rest of her body._

_The frustration lasted for mere moments before Minato began slowly pushing into her, making the red head grunt in pain as he pushed past her barrier sheathing himself in her completely. Naminé lay there wide eyed, her hands on his arms as slowly her body adjusted to the full feeling of Minato inside her._

"_Are you ok?" Minato asked in concern._

"_Yeah." She breathed groaning as slowly he began to move, pulling out before thrusting back in making the red head gasp at the sensation and pausing to look at her._

"_More?" he asked groaning, relishing how tight she was around him, she felt so good._

"_Yes, please yes." She said breathlessly meeting his lips as he kissed her, the redhead moaning into the kiss as Minato entered her once again groaning as slowly her body accepted him. This time he didn't stop and soon they fell into a rhythm as the sounds of gasps moans and grunts filled the silence, the red head soon meeting him with every thrust, keeping up as his tempo increased._

_She was so close and Minato could tell, her breathing had picked up and her body was trembling as he increased his pace pounding into her harder and kissing her throat as she moaned loudly, gasping with each thrust Naminé barely keeping up. She could feel herself building up, her body beginning to tremble and stiffen as that moment came closer._

"_Ahh, Minato, I-I'm gonna- I'm gonna- Oh!" Finally she came crying out Minato's name as her body tensed finally at the breaking point of being wound so tightly but was so gratifyingly released, it was a spectacular sensation that was completely overwhelming, and the sight of Naminé coming unwound screaming his name underneath him was enough to send Minato over the edge as he too came emptying himself in the redhead's clenching passage and collapsing next to her trembling, heaving form on the bed as he panted heavily pulling the exhausted Naminé into his arms._

"_You know I love you right?" Minato whispered into the red head's ear, kissing his way down her neck._

"_Mhmm." She hummed nodding barely awake, her breathing slowing as exhaustion overwhelmed her. The red head could still feel his hands along her arms, she knew he was looking at her scars and it didn't bother her, not one bit because it was him. _

"_Are you tired?"_

"_Mhmm."_

"_Can all you do is hum?" he asked with a bit of a smirk as his eyes grew heavier._

"_Mhmm." Minato could tell Naminé was almost in dreamland._

"_Did I hurt you?"_

"_Uh uh." She shook her head, her eyes feeling so heavy._

"_Good." He said reaching over for the blanket and covering himself and the red head with it before dozing beside her._

_End flashback_

Naminé blinked feeling the heat radiating from her face.

"Well? What do you remember, the way your face heated up it's gotta be something good." The blonde said with a smirk as Naminé walked over to the washing machine and swapping out her now clean but wet sheets putting them into the dryer.

"It hurt at first, but then it felt really good." Naminé said blushing not expecting to have this conversation with anyone.

"Well, that just about sums up sex for the first time there kiddo."

"Yeah…" Naminé said wanting to get off the subject. "So you've been much happier lately." The red head said changing the subject from herself to her aunt who caught on to the red head's focus change.

"Of course I'm happy, my son is healthy, my husband is home safe I couldn't ask for more, I truly could not ask for more than that, my family is together and that's all I could ask for." Temari said with a serene smile as she leaned back on her arms and closed her eyes thinking of the two men in her life making her niece smile.

"Where's Yahiko now?"

"He's sleeping with Shikamaru, it was the sweetest thing I've ever seen in my life." The blonde said with another smile recalling the last view she'd had of her son sleeping peacefully on Shikamaru's chest as the older male held the infant safely in place. She was happy, so happy and cherished these moments, especially since she thought she'd never have them. Smiling at her niece Temari motioned for the girl to follow as she went down stairs to make tea, nothing would ever ruin her day, not a thing on this earth could bring her down to the level she had been at during Shikamaru's disappearance, for the blonde everything was sunshine and rainbows, not exactly, but for her it was perfect. How could it not be when her family was back together?

O0o0o0

After leaving her aunt Naminé made her way back to her room carrying her freshly cleaned sheets completely devoid of stains of any kind. Just as she finished making her bed there was another knock on her door. Looking up the red head spotted her mother standing in the door way.

"Hey love, I'm growing out of all my clothes here, want to go shopping with me?" the brunette asked with a smile. Naminé returned her mom's grin.

"I'd love to." Quickly the redhead followed after her mom figuring that of all possible ways to spend waiting for Minato to come back this would most likely be the most fun. Together they made their way out to the village in the pouring rain and to the market easily finding the maternity store for the brunette, and after watching her mom pick out several outfits and paying for them they continued walking out to the street together under the umbrella.

"Naminé when was the last time we bought you some clothes?" Nia asked looking at her daughter's worn dark capris and tank top.

"Well I really haven't out grown anything so I don't need anything new." The red head said with a shrug.

"That's not an acceptable answer, come on." The brunette said dragging the girl into a shop that caught her eye. Once inside Naminé was handed several outfits of clothes and sent to the dressing room, and with a sigh and a shake of her head she humored her mother and began trying on the clothes.

O0o0o0

It was still raining when Minato made his way to the Kazekage's tower, he was squeaky clean from his shower and hoped to any being above that would listen that Gaara didn't know what happened with him and Naminé, Gaara would kill him, end of story. Knocking on the door he waited only moments before it opened.

"Come in." entering the bluenette was met with the sight of the Kazekage working at his desk, however when he finished the paper he was on he looked up and spotting the boy nodded and reached into a drawer pulling out a scroll and offering it to the young man before him. "This arrived for you just hours ago, it's from your father." The red headed make said simply as Minato took the scroll with a nod of thanks. Opening it he read the contents, it was a simple mission update, nothing really important. Closing it he stowed it in his pocket staring at the Kazekage expectantly. "That's all that arrived for you. On another note though I do want to thank you for bringing back Shikamaru, I don't think I've ever seen my sister as happy as she's been in the past few days, it's quite a refreshing change. Give my thanks to the two ANBU involved as well please."

"I will, and don't thank me, it was my mission to find and bring home people we cared about. It was just my job."

"A job you did well, you're free to go." Gaara said returning to his work. With that done Minato made his way from the office and headed towards the Kazekage's mansion looking for Naminé.

O0o0o0

The rain had finally lightened up when Naminé and her mother exited the fourth shop, each holding several bags of clothing. It seemed that finally Nia was satisfied with the new additions to her daughter's wardrobe and with a smile insisted that the teen wear the last outfit from the store making Naminé sigh as the cashier rang up the purchases, now instead of her black capris and red tank top she wore white shorts and a long pale pink tank top with thin shoulder straps. Her mom had even pulled her long hair from its pony tail smiling and claiming that for now she had finished her job of girling her up. Most of Naminé's clothes had been ninja related, nothing much for days off or relaxing so that's what her mom had gone crazy with. Taking all of the bags from her daughter, Nia beamed and made her way home leaving Naminé to shake her head. Figuring that Minato would have finished up his meeting with her father Naminé walked through the village looking for the bluenette not minding the rain one bit.

"Oh jeeze Naminé is that you?" the redhead paused hearing the familiar voice of her teammate Kato. "What the hell happened to your arms and legs?" It was then that Naminé realized that this was the first time since before the incident that she'd shown so much skin, something was always covering her scars be it her capris or the ninja mesh on her arms, now none of that was there.

"Yeah what happened to you? You used to be cute." Shinra said taking pride in the fact that he knew that comment hurt her. That comment struck the girl and turning to face her teammates the hurt was clearly recognizable on her features and almost immediately her sand wrapped around her bringing the teen far away from the two boys, the blonde who was laughing and the brunette who was scowling at the blonde for his rude comment.

O0o0o0

She hadn't seen him, but that didn't mean Minato hadn't seen her. He'd caught the pained look on her face and watched as her hands flew to her arms insecurely, the red head quickly vanishing from the area, almost immediately Minato stormed over and snatched the blonde by the collar of his shirt.

"What the hell did you say to her?"

"Nothing that wasn't true." Immediately Kato broke up what would have been a fight.

"Shinra, shut the hell up." He snapped glaring at the blonde, finally he turned to Minato. "What happened to her? How'd she get those scars?" Minato stared at the brunette looking for any sign of malicious intent from the teen, he could see curiosity and worry, nothing else. Seeing this he decided to start from the beginning, he wanted to see how much they knew.

"The first time she came home Naminé wasn't allowed to go on any missions, did she ever tell you why?"

"Yeah she said she got hurt on a mission and was put on leave." Hearing this Minato sighed.

"That's only half of the truth. Naminé wasn't just hurt on a mission, she was tortured."

"What?" even this earned the blonde's attention as he was now rapt with attention focusing on the conversation at hand.

"Every single one of those scars on her arms and legs, on her back and stomach is a testament to how much she not only loves her village, but loves the people in it as well. Every day that she didn't speak, the next they did something worse to her. Not once did she talk, not once in eleven days."

"Eleven days? How'd she get out?"

"Her father came, killed them all and brought her home."

"What else happened to her, Naminé was scared of everything under the sun when she first came back." The blonde asked suddenly.

"That more than anything is personal, and if she wishes to tell you, then she will, it's not my place."

"And how the hell do you know all this?" Shinra asked with a scowl and a glare, though the brunette didn't share his attitude he too was curious for an answer. They both watched as he pulled off his over shirt and stared at the scars on his arms, there were nowhere near as many as Naminé had but they were still clearly visible.

"Because I was there too." He said shuffling his shirt back on. "Now what did you say to her?" he said once again glaring at the blonde who upon having received this information looked more than anything regretful of his words.

"I said she used to be cute." He said quietly earning once again his teammate's glare, and this time Minato's too. "What!? I didn't know that she'd been-

"Shinra! It's still not something you say to a girl, let alone your teammate you dick."

"You're Shinra? The same Shinra that Naminé dated?" the bluenette said glaring much more angrily at the blonde.

"Yeah."

"At some point in time know that I'm going to give you the beating of a life time for what you did to her."

"Yeah and who are you to do that?"

"Her boyfriend." He growled making the two teens blink in surprise, however now the brunette just continued to stare at the blonde.

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing."

"Doesn't sound like nothing Shinra, what did you do?"

"Jeeze! On a date I got a little carried away once, that's all."

"You make it sound like what you did was nothing." Minato growled. "Know that I'm coming for you, it's guaranteed but right now I have to go find her." Just as he turned the brunette stopped him.

"Hey, if you're looking for Naminé she could be in two places, one is the Cliffside, and the other is when she just wanders off into the desert going northeast."

"Thanks." He said to the brunette taking off after the red head and leaving the two teammates to bicker.

o0o0o0

Naminé sat on the edge of the lookout, her feet dangling over the edge not caring about the rain, her clothes were already soaked through. Naminé could sense his presence before he could even speak and quickly pushed back her hurt. Turning she smiled at him.

"Hey Minato I was wondering when I'd see you, how'd the talk with my dad go?"

"It went just fine." he said leaning on the cement barrier. "You wanna get away from the edge there? It's kind of creeping me out." Naminé smiled softly knowing the bluenette had a thing about heights, and standing she made her way towards him, pausing just in front of the bluenette.

"Minato…Am I pretty?" Naminé asked softly unable to look him in the eyes feeling her heart constrict while she waited for his answer, the voices of her teammates still echoing in her head.

"_What the hell happened to your arms and legs?"_

"_You used to be cute." _ She could feel tears burning her eyes.

"Naminé, look at me." Minato said softly caressing her face and tilting it upwards so she could face him. "You are absolutely beautiful. Don't you ever question that ever again. You are the most beautiful woman inside and outside that I know." He said softly resting his head against hers and wiping away the tears. He could see that she wasn't convinced and held her tighter. "Can you bring me to your room, I want to show you something." He said softly and feeling the girl nod her head he watched as dry sand from her pouch wrapped around them bringing the two to Naminé's room.

Releasing the red head Minato walked over and closed her door motioning her over to where the mirror hung on the back of the door. Holding back a sigh Naminé walked over. "Look in the mirror and tell me what you see." He said softly standing behind her. Naminé stared into the mirror but looked away saying nothing. "Do you know what I see?" Now she shook her head no. "I see someone strong and smart, someone witty and beautiful with a smart mouth to back up her attitude."

"How can you see me as pretty? Minato look at me, I'm not pretty I'm not beautiful, I'm just a girl with a lot of scars." She said sniffing and rubbing her eye. Minato sighed then confused the redhead with what he'd said next.

"Naminé take your shirt off."

"Minato I really don't feel like messing around right now."

"Doing something sexual is the farthest thing from my mind, just humor me and take it off, please?" with a sigh Naminé lifted her tank top by the hem and pulled it over her head revealing more scarred skin on her stomach and back.

"Happy?" she asked crossing her arms trying to cover herself, Minato however wouldn't let her, and gently pulled her arms to her side.

"Do you know what I think every time I see one of your scars Naminé?" the bluenette said tracing his finger along one of the longer ones on her shoulder and making the redhead look away from his gaze in the mirror.

"No." She said softly.

"Every time I see them I think the same thing, 'That is when she said no.'"

"What?" now Naminé looked up, she was even more confused, Minato however continued. His finger traced along another scar.

"It's what I know you were thinking Naminé." It was then he looked her in the eye his finger quickly dragging along her skin imitating the cut of the knife. "I refuse to let you hurt my family." His finger dragged long another scar. "I refuse to let you harm my village." Again his finger dragged along a new scar. "I will not let you hurt my mother." And again. "I will not let you hurt my father" And again. "I will not let you hurt my uncles." Again. "I will not let you hurt my aunt." Now his finger ran down the largest scar on her back, the one from the heated metal rod, in her head Naminé could still feel the heat of it searing into her skin and couldn't help but flinch when Minato touched it. "I will not break, you cannot break me." Now his hand went down her back around her waist and caressed the scar on her stomach. "Because I love them." His thumb grazed against a faint scar on her waist. "Because I would die for them."

"I would." Naminé said taking in a shuddering breath as more tears overflowed. "I would die for them, all of them again and again and again if it meant keeping my family safe, keeping my village safe, to keep _you_ safe. I would be willing to go through every moment of that torture again if I knew that none of you would ever be hurt. But all around us people we love are being hurt, people we love are dying, people want to hurt the ones we love, they want to hurt you and my mom. Minato people want to _kill _my Dad and I don't want that to ever happen!" the red head sobbed holding her head in her hands as Minato held her tightly in his arms.

"It's ok, it won't happen because you won't let it, Naminé you are strong and you can protect your family and they will protect you, and when we are together we will protect each other. I promise."

"You can't promise me that! You don't know what's going to happen in the future Minato, you don't know what's going to happen to us, to me and my family or you and yours. Something could happen and just like that, everything we ever loved could be gone!"

"Naminé listen to me. You did not let them break you then, do not let them break you now." He said turning the red head in his arms and held her close, her face buried into the crook of his neck as she held tightly to his shirt.

"I'm so scared…and I'm tired of being scared. I'm scared of what will happen to my family, I'm scared for my new sibling, I'm scared something will happen to my village or yours, I'm scared that something will happen to you. Minato I love you so much, and everything I could possibly lose is so precious to me, that's what makes me so terrified, I don't think I can take it. And on top of it all you always find a way to make me feel better, you make me feel pretty when I know I'm not, you make me feel cherished and loved when all I've ever felt was used, I don't want to lose that either!" the red head said now sobbing much harder.

"You won't lose that Naminé, I won't let you."

"You're still making me a promise you can't keep." She whispered.

"I've never broken a promise to you before Naminé."

"Then don't start now, please." With a sigh the bluenette still holding the red head in his arms took the several steps to her bed and flopped down on it holding Naminé tightly against him. Time passed and they stayed like that for the longest time, Minato lying silently and Naminé being held in his arms. As he lay there Minato realized for the first time just how fragile and sensitive the redhead in his arms truly was. She'd always put up a tough front, always and now she was truly and utterly falling apart all because some jerk said that she 'used' to be cute. Did she not see how beautiful she was? How on Kami's green earth did he not see how little self-esteem she had? That more than anything was bothering him. It was then he realized while she was his heart, he was her armor, always there to protect her and always would be. It was his job and his duty, to keep her safe, even from herself.

**Lemons AND drama how good am I? lol well here I decided that Naminé who really isn't ever much of an emotional girly girl (only when something devastating happens) would just end up having a moment. To me she's a character who feels the need to be tough because of who she's related to, she feels the need to be strong like them and eventually bottles everything up until she just can't anymore. Because she views emotions as weakness she tries not to show them, and tries not to admit her fears either. I've noticed that when I write her admitting her fears, it's always to someone who's stronger than she is and who is able to handle the situation at hand either by simply listening to her or by physically helping her out as they had gone through the same things themselves. First it was just talking out her fears of her nightmares to her dad, then it was when she spoke of her fears of being replaced by the new baby to Aya, and even now she admits her fears of the future to Minato who is the one person she wants to spend her future with who also shares these fears. Anyways, I felt like sharing this so yeah…Anyways I'll update soon, okies? =)**


	32. The loss of a Child's Spark

Dangerous Lives

Chapter 29

The Loss of a Child's Spark

Ino walked along the corridor of the hospital, she'd taken to Sakura's position easily taking over for the Pinkette while she was away tending to the Kazekage's wife, however as easily as she had grown accustomed to her new duties, she was easily burdened by the heavy work load of having students. Some she'd sent to work with other willing doctors and nurses until Sakura's return keeping only a handful to train herself so she could teach them properly, Kazuki was one of the few. They had been working on a trauma victim in the ER and despite the girl's best efforts the patient had coded and there was no bringing him back. Ino had called it and watched as the red headed girl simply stared at the corpse of what had only minutes prior been a living breathing human with a future friends and family, now they were dead, gone and no longer.

"Kazu-Chan?"

"Yes Ino-sensei?" the girl said quietly watching as several nurses took the body from the room.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." She said softly.

"That's signature girl speak for being anything but fine, would you like to talk about it?" Kazuki simply shook her head no.

"Ok, I'm here if you do want to talk about it, would you like to go home early today?" once again the girl shook her head no and Ino nodded.

"Come, we have other patients to see, we can't dwell on someone lost when other's lives are in our hands. I'll take Mr. Matsumi, you take Mrs. Yuki. I'll expect a status report when you've finished. She'll be an easy patient for you, nothing can go wrong with her." The blonde said sending the girl down the hall, she knew Mrs. Yuki, the woman was a regular visitor to the hospital with her old age and was concerned over every bump and scrape she got, Ino knew that such a simple patient would be good for the girl right now, and after watching Kazuki walk down the hall Ino headed towards her own patient's room.

"Mrs. Yuki? My name's Kazuki I'm your nurse."

"Oh such a sweet little girl! Are you training to be a medic?"

"Yes ma'am." The red head said reaching for and reading the old woman's chart and finding nothing wrong. "So what seems to be the problem today Mrs. Yuki?" the red head asked her blue Hyuga eyes scanning the page looking for anything unusual.

"Oh I'm just much more tired than I usually am today dear. I was thinking that maybe I was getting a cold, my husband passed away from a dreadful cold last year."

"I see, I'm terribly sorry to hear about that."

"Oh it's quite alright, he was no fun anyways, always a bit of a stiff, but he was still my husband and I loved and miss him dearly." The woman said as the girl took her vitals.

"Well you seem fine but I'll run a few tests for illness, it could be a virus, there is one going around but it's never been more than a stuffy nose and a slight cough so you don't have to worry, ok?"

"Thank you, once you've ordered the tests would you mind staying for a little bit? You have a very calming presence." Hearing this surprised the girl who nodded.

"Sure, I wouldn't mind at all. I'll be back in a few minutes." The red head said and after taking a few specimens of blood and saliva she ran down to the labs and returned to the old woman's room and sat at the chair making the occupant smile at her.

"I'm just going to rest my eyes for a few, you'll wake me when the test results come back?"

"Yes Mrs. Yuki, the throat cultures should be done within the hour, and the blood tests in a few hours."

"Very good, you're an amazing girl." Hearing this made Kazuki smile.

"Thank you." After the woman had fallen asleep the red head walked from the room checking on her other patients and by the time her rounds had finished the throat culture had come back negative for any illness and deciding to wait on the blood tests Kazuki let the elderly woman sleep, no point in waking her for a simple update. Another two hours passed before the results came in, and Ino was right, as usual nothing was wrong with Mrs. Yuki so with the results in hand the red headed girl made her way down the hall to her patient's room, and entering she walked over gently shaking the woman's shoulder.

"Mrs. Yuki, the test results are back." The old woman did not stir making the redhead concerned. "Mrs. Yuki?" Reaching for the woman's hand the red head noticed that it was cooler than normal as her fingers landed on her wrist feeling no pulse. Swallowing the girl sat down in the chair next to the bed and wrote one final line on the chart, placing it next to her as she held the woman's hand.

"Kazuki what are you still doing here, I was expecting your status report almost an hour ago." Ino said walking into the room only to be met with the saddest face she'd seen on the red headed girl.

"You said nothing would go wrong." she said hurrying from the room leaving behind a shocked blonde. Walking over Ino picked up the chart reading the last line which read 'Time of death 2:30pm'

"Oh no."

O0o0o0

Hinata had been finishing up washing off some vegetables from her garden when the phone rang, reaching over she picked it up.

"Hello?"

"_Hinata?"_

"Ino hi!" the bluenette said with a smile. "What's up?"

"_Kazuki's had a bad day at the hospital and I wanted to know if you'd come get her, she won't leave and I really think she needs to go home."_

"What happened?" Hinata asked concerned wiping her hands dry with a towel.

"_She lost two patients today back to back and that's hard for even veteran nurses to deal with, the first was a trauma victim and the second was an elderly woman just naturally passing. I suggested that she go home after the first one, but the second was just bad luck. I have her in the nurses' lounge on the second floor."_

"I'll be there in ten minutes." Hinata said and after a good bye from Ino she hung up the phone and left the house. Her daughter Hinata knew was much like herself, she was a bleeding heart trying her best to help everyone and everything, and the bluenette knew that the red headed girl took it hard when things didn't work out. She entered the hospital only five minutes later and having had to meet Sakura there several times Hinata knew exactly where the lounge was and made her way over to the door opening it and immediately spotting her daughter sitting on a couch facing away from the door. Walking over she made her way over to her daughter placing a hand on her shoulder making the red head blink and look over at her mother before dissolving into tears as Hinata wrapped her arms around her.

"Oh sweetie it'll be ok." Hinata said soothingly running her fingers through her long red hair.

"It's so hard. I'm trying but it's so hard." The little girl cried holding onto her mother tightly.

"I know baby I know. I'm sorry it's hard, I know it hurts I'm sorry. Come, we're going home, you can try again on your next shift ok?" The girl simply shook her head as Hinata slowly walked her from the hospital. "Do you want to stop by and see Daddy?" Hinata asked knowing that Naruto could always make their youngest feel better, and to her surprise Kazuki shook her head.

"I just wanna go home."

"Ok, we'll go home." The trip to the Uzumaki house took no time and once they arrived the girl went right to her room closing the door behind her.

O0o0o0

_Dear not a diary because Aya says diaries are for sissies,_

_I had a bad day today. I wish there was more I could do for my patients, but I think sometimes things just happen. Maybe I need to learn that even though I want to…I can't save everyone. I know mom's worried about me but it felt good to cry, it's strange but today I kind of felt like an angel of death, where ever I went someone died, I just hope that it's limited to today only and to the hospital. I'm afraid to go back, honestly I am I don't want to see any more people die. I wish Sakura sensei was here, she'd know what to do. I think I'll ask for the rest of the week off, it's only Thursday but I kind of feel like I need it, plus there's tons of interns so it's not like they'll be understaffed. I'm going to go now, I'm tired._

_-Kazi-Chan_

Closing her not diary Kazuki stashed it under her bed and closed her eyes laying on her stomach and soon enough she'd fallen asleep.

_O0o0o0_

The return to Konoha was a much quieter one than the blonde had expected, it seemed that her father had kept Shikamaru's reappearance quiet until he could see the Jonin with his own eyes. That was fine with her, after dropping Shikamaru off at the Hokage's tower the two ANBU were dismissed, both immediately heading to the ANBU center to report back to the ANBU leader Sai.

"And the mission was a success?" the pale skinned man asked looking from one ANBU member to the other.

"Yes sir though I obtained injuries during the mission Tigress was able to heal my wounds."

"Very good, exceptional in fact. When was the last time either of you has had time off?" both paused to think and Aya was the first to respond.

"About three months ago once I returned to active duty."

"Four months ago when I was placed on forced sick leave by Sakura." Hearing this Sai nodded.

"I think you two have earned some definite vacation time, if that meets with your approval of course." This time Asuma was the first to respond.

"How long?"

"Ten days. To train to rest, it's all up to you."

"I accept then."

"As do I." Aya said softly at the moment she felt that a day off would be the equivalent of heaven.

"Good. As of now you're both on a ten day leave, well-earned if I do say so. You both are dismissed, and because this is vacation time you are not required to turn in your masks as you both are still able bodied. You will only be called upon an emergency basis. Please by all means do enjoy yourselves."

"Sir."

"Sir." The two chorused at once. With that he waved his hand dismissing them both from his office and at once they turned and left.

"Go home, I'll see you in a little bit ok?"

"I'll be on the third floor." Aya said softly feeling his fingers brush her hand as she walked away from him and headed towards home. Stowing away her mask Aya entered her house, she was going to take a long hot uninterrupted shower. Making her way up the stairs Aya passed her sister.

"I'm going out Nee-Chan, I'll be home soon." The red head said.

"Be safe Kazuki." The blonde said before entering her room and gathering everything she needed for her shower.

O0o0o0o0

A walk was definitely what she needed to clear her mind at the moment. The red head had managed to sneak past her mom before escaping the house and making her way into the village. Maybe it was the familiarity of the place, maybe it was because she knew that nothing could hurt her there, whatever the reason Kazuki ended up walking through the forest to a clearing her mother had shown her, it had a pond and wild flowers all through it, all and all it was a very tranquil place to be however when Kazuki arrived she was surprised to find someone there. It was a girl, and from the looks of her she was just a few years older than she was. The girl looked vaguely familiar and as she approached, Kazuki understood why, the brunette before her was also training to become a medic ninja.

"Hey, you're Kazuki right? The Hokage's daughter?"

"Yes? Why?" the brunette paused in front of the red head.

"Well I heard what happened today and I wanted to say that I'm sorry it happened and it must really suck." The red head wasn't expecting this of all things and felt her eyes burn in response to the girl's words.

"Thank you, and yes it did suck."

"My name's Kanashimi, I'm sorry you had such a bad day. You can call me Shimi, or Kana, that's what my brothers do." The girl said sitting down on a log near the pond and looking into the water.

"Well you already know my name, but you can call me Kazu or Zuki, that's what_ my_ siblings do too." The red head said with a smile as she sat down leaning against a tree. "How many siblings do you have?" the younger girl asked curiously. Turning her head the brunette smiled at her.

"I have four. All older brothers. Then there's my dad, he raised all of us. I don't remember my mom though."

"Four brothers? That's gotta be fun. I have my brother and my sister. I'm the youngest too. What are your siblings like?" Kazuki asked growing comfortable with her new friend as they continued to talk.

"Well." Kanashimi said turning to face Kazuki. "They're all older than me by quite a bit, my oldest brother's almost thirty-two, he works as an interrogator, his name's Itami. Then is Owari, he's twenty-nine. He's an assassin. After him comes Gekido, he's twenty-six. He can be a bit of a hot head sometimes but he's good at turning others against each other and manipulating them by using their emotions. Finally for my brothers there's Kyofu, he's twenty-two, he's an excellent shinobi and uses illusions to instill fear into his opponents. All of my brothers are shinobi like my dad. I guess you can say it runs in the family. Oh and I can't forget my dad. He's really, really, strong! His name's Kumichou, back at our old village he used to be the leader there, it was a very small place though, not as big as here. I was only five when we left there, I can't even remember the name of it, but ever since we left Konoha's been my home."

"Wow, I can't believe your oldest brother is twenty years older than you!" the red head said in shock.

"I know most families it's usually between one to five years that siblings differ. Maybe I was a surprise or adopted or something." The girl said with a laugh. "So, since I've been talking forever how about you? What made you want to get into medicine Kazu?"

"Well, it all started near my fifth birthday, back when my older cousin Hizashi was still alive." The red head said softly. "We were best friends, very best friends, we did everything together." She said recalling her cousin with a fond smile.

_~~Flashback~~_

"_Again!" Neji said watching as the two children took their stances and met each other blow for blow going through the forms beautifully. Both were no older than five, one was a girl with long red hair and blue Hyuga eyes and the other was a boy with short brown hair and lavender colored Hyuga eyes. They were both excellent examples of the power and prowess of the Hyuga clan. As the pair finished up their forms Neji called them to a halt._

"_Well done both of you, your grandfathers would be so proud of you both and I know I am. Hizashi, when you move from the second stance to the third remember to move with your right foot first not your left, in the heat of battle you could end up tripping, understood?"_

"_Yes father." The boy said trying to commit that comment to memory so he could apply it in practice later._

"_Good, and Kazuki your transitions were flawless however you lack not only speed, but the strength and force, you young one need to strike with more conviction. I know you do not wish to hurt anyone but when you're training without chakra it's ok to go all out until you find the proper amount of force you yourself need for your attacks. For today you both are dismissed, go play." The brunette said with a smile watching as his son and niece shared a look before running from the Hyuga training grounds in the compound._

"_Hizashi what do you wanna do now?" the four year old asked brushing her long red hair behind her ear._

"_Oh we can play ninja!" Hizashi said his eyes lighting up in excitement._

"_Ok! What do you wanna be Zashi?"_

"_Easy, I'm gonna be the Hokage! What about you Kazi?"_

"_I'll be an ANBU just like my auntie was!"_

"_All right lets go play!" the brunette said running down the hall leading the red head to his room where he grabbed wooden shuriken and kunai from his toy chest. The two played for hours having a blast and running all around the Hyuga grounds until finally dinner was called, tired worn out and hungry both children hurried to the dining room both scrambling into the seats laid out. Dinner passed by with cheerful conversation when finally Tenten noticed something, her son was not at his usual seat._

"_Hizashi don't you usually sit next to your father?" she asked sharing a smirk with Neji. Their son was very well versed with the rules of the Hyuga house._

"_Yup mum, but the rules say that an honored guest that dines with the family needs to sit next to the leader of the house as a sign of respect. It's also a sign of equality." He said with a smile sitting in what one would assume is the guests seat and taking another bite of his food. The rest of dinner passed easily and soon enough it was time for bed for the two four year olds. After settling into the two small beds Tenten came in to wish them good night giving her son a kiss on the forehead._

"_Good night sweet dreams." _

"_Sweet dreams Mum."_

"_Sweet dreams Aunty." Smiling the weapons mistress closed the door leaving it open a crack leaving the two alone._

"_Hey Kazi?" the brunette Hyuga asked turning to face his cousin._

"_Yeah Zashi?" Kazuki answered tiredly._

"_What do you wanna be when you grow up?"_

"_I dunno…I want to be someone strong like my mom and dad. What about you?"_

"_I think I wanna be the Hokage. That way I can protect everyone." The brunette said with a smile snuggling into his blankets._

"_Well if you're gonna be the Hokage then I'll be the ANBU that protects the Hokage, cuz you'll be so busy protecting everyone you'll forget to protect yourself."_

"_That's the best plan ever! We'll start training tomorrow so we can reach our destinies of Hokage and ANBU! Deal?"_

"_Deal." Kazuki said with a smile as she and her cousin reached over interlocking their fingers in an awkward handshake that made them both laugh. With their plan set the two soon fell into an easy sleep._

_The morning sun rose and with it so did the two children, one feeling much worse than the other._

"_Zashi? Are you ok?" Kazuki asked looking at her cousin in concern as they walked down the halls._

"_My belly hurts." He said in a small voice._

"_Is it cuz you're hungry?" the red head asked hopefully as the boy shook his head no. He hadn't eaten much of anything during breakfast, the boy didn't think his stomach could take it if he did. They continued walking through the compound when suddenly the boy froze in place and fell to his knees clutching his stomach and throwing up as he began to cry hysterically pain coursing through him and shaking his tiny frame. Immediately the red head began screaming for her aunt and uncle, something was very wrong._

"_AUNTIE TENNIE! UNCLE NEJI!" Almost immediately the sound of running people could be heard as every Hyuga within earshot hurried towards the panicked screams. As the crowd gathered around the small red headed girl was jostled around until finally she was pulled aside by her aunt while her uncle made his way towards his son._

"_Kazuki what happened?" The brunette asked urgently._

"_I don't know! He said his belly hurt and then he threw up red and he started crying." The red head said in tears._

"_Tenten I'm bringing him to the hospital!" Neji said carrying his son as he hurried from the compound. Tenten brought Kazuki home and after explaining what had happened to Hinata and Naruto they all hurried down to the hospital, though when they had arrived the boy's condition only seemed to be getting worse. He stayed in the hospital for three days, and every day Kazuki visited her cousin trying to make him feel better, though the third day in the hospital was the last time she got to speak to her cousin, the conversation they had was the one that stuck with her. Just as she was leaving Hizashi mustered up the energy to speak._

"_Zuki?"_

"_Yeah Zashi?"_

"_Next time we play ninja, I want you to be the Hokage, ok?"_

"_Ok, I will."_

"_Promise?"_

"_I promise."_

"_Good." With that being said Hinata walked her daughter from the room leaving the boy and his parents together. Later that evening he passed away._

_O0o0o0_

"I got into medicine so nobody would ever have to suffer like Hizashi did, that's why I want to become Hokage too, I promised him that the next time we played ninja I would be the Hokage, and what better way to play than to be the actual Hokage."

"I'm so sorry to hear that, it must have been awful." Kanashimi said softly.

"It hurts so much to think about it, and now with everything else that happened, it's just so hard to deal with."

"Hey, don't grieve for them, their suffering has ended, and they either lived or they live eternally. Anchor yourself to the foundation of what you love, find what it is and keep a hold of it. Don't let the world trick you, don't let their lies deceive you and do not allow yourself to be betrayed by your beliefs."

"Wow, I never thought of it that way." Kazuki said softly.

"It's my nindo. Never will I ever allow myself to be fooled by the world I love, never will I betray my beliefs or allow them to betray me, and as long as I hold on to what I love I can do anything."

"I have definitely taught you well young one."

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Kazuki turned to face the dark haired man who had entered the clearing.

"I've been looking for you Kanashimi, it's time to go I trust you remember we had a trip planned this week?" hearing this, the girl nodded.

"I'll see you later Kazuki." She said standing from her seat and hurrying off.

"Your last name wouldn't happen to be Uzumaki would it?" the man asked fixing his gaze on the red head.

"Yeah it is." The way he was staring at her made the red head uneasy.

"To think of all the children, mine is friends with the daughter of the Hokage." Turning he began walking from the clearing the same way his child had, though before he left he paused turning towards the girl. "Do be careful, it's getting dark and the world is a very dangerous place at night."

"Thanks for the concern, but I can take care of myself just fine." The red head said putting up a tough front, this man had her feeling very uneasy.

"Your siblings could take care of themselves too couldn't they, but that didn't stop what happened to them did it?" That said he left melting into the shadows and leaving the girl with a sense of foreboding.

O0o0o0

On the third floor of the Namikaze mansion were four rooms, one was the library, the second was the at home office of the Hokage, the third was a room used for studying scrolls in the library, and the fourth was a room Aya had found when she was a kid playing hide and seek with her brother. It was small quiet, and calming, and after years of finding things the blonde had made it into her own little hide away with a table some chairs, a bean bag chair, and a comfy couch she'd managed to put into a storage scroll. The only other people who knew about the room were Kazuki (having found it by accident), and Asuma who had been brought there by Aya. The blonde had gone all out keeping her hide away a secret even going as far as to learn the seals that prevented the Byakugan from seeing into it from her uncle while some reconstruction had been going on at the Hyuga compound. To say that the blonde wanted to keep her own little hiding spot a secret was an understatement.

Grabbing her favorite blanket from her bed Aya climbed the stairs heading to the third floor, and entering the library the blonde walked to the farthest wall and pushed in a spot of paneling, and hearing a click a section of the wall the size of a door opened, and quickly the girl made her way into the room closing the door behind her. She made her way to the couch and flopped on it reaching for a small music box she kept on the table. Pulling the small box close she wound the key as far as she could before placing it back on the table and laying down on the couch snuggling up to her blanket listening to the soft tune emanating from the box. It was like magic and soon the blonde could feel herself falling asleep.

O0o0o0

Asuma made his way to the Namikaze mansion cutting through the forest on a very well-worn path, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his hooded sweat shirt, and his hair still damp from his shower. He was definitely taking his time going to Aya's, because knowing her like he did, she would be taking a long, looong shower, especially after a mission. The last thing he wanted to do was show up at her place while she was showering because one thing would lead to another and then they'd both be in the shower again, and as much as Asuma liked the sex, and he really really did, he just wanted to be with her tonight. Things had gotten so hectic so quickly that they really hadn't had time to just enjoy each other's company in a long while, and to be honest he missed just being able to hold her and fall asleep with the blonde in his arms.

Just as he exited the wooded path the sound of snapping twigs and rustling leaves caught his attention, and as he turned the familiar form of the only red headed Uzumaki child came into view grabbing onto the back of his hoodie as she stared nervously into the dark woods hiding herself behind him.

"Kazu what's wrong?" the girl simply shook her head watching the forest as if waiting for something to happen and after a minute the girl seemed to relax.

"Where you going Asuma?" the girl asked nonchalantly.

"Your house, what were you looking for in there?"

"Nothing, the forest is just kind of creepy at night so I got a bit scared."

"Well I'll keep you safe on the walk." Asuma said palming the girls head with his hand nudging her ahead of him and taking a final glance behind him seeing only darkness from where the girl had come running.

"Asuma?"

"Mhmm?"

"Are you and Nee-Chan friends again?" Red eyes met pale blue.

"We've always been friends Kazu-

"But that day you left, you said good bye like you were never coming back and you didn't. Aya was really sad that day you know, after you left I went into her room and she was just lying there crying. Then she got really quiet for a long time, she wouldn't talk to us, she just stayed in her room."

"Kazu why are you telling me this?" Asuma asked softly.

"So whatever you did you won't do it again, seriously you broke her, do not do it again!" The girl said firmly staring hard at the teen who walked next to her.

"I won't I promise, I did what I did because she needed space away from me Kazu. One day when you're older you'll learn what happened to your sister and you'll understand just like your brother and parents why I had to stay away. Just know that me being around would have hurt her more than helped her, and it killed me, every single day it killed me to stay away, it did. But now everything's better, I promise I won't hurt her like that ever again. You have my word on that." He said softly as they made their way up the walkway.

"Good, you'd better mean what you say because I never want to see my sister like that ever again." The red head said opening the door to the house and allowing the red eyed teen to enter. "Aya's around here somewhere." She said simply turning to lock the door as she made her way into the house. Taking this as his dismissal Asuma headed up to the third floor and entered the library, checking that the coast was clear before entering the hidden room.

Once the door was shut he could hear the soft twinkling tune of the music box he'd gotten her as her Genin graduation present. She was sleeping on the couch wrapped in her blanket. Walking over Asuma kicked off his shoes tossed his hoodie onto the bean bag chair and climbed onto the couch behind the sleeping girl wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling his head into the blonde's neck and letting out a contented sigh as he held her tightly against him, feeling her body move as she breathed softly. With the sound of the music box, the feel of her body radiating warmth against his and the blonde's intoxicating scent Asuma soon found himself growing weary, and in no time at all he too had fallen asleep holding her tightly in his arms.

O0o0o0o

Naminé stared out at the desert stretched before her, leaning on the balcony as she scanned the crowds of people. Her mother was out there, at work to be exact, and she was getting out in about ten minutes. Pushing herself up and over the balcony Naminé crouched on the ground cushioning her fall before standing and walking towards the hospital. It was obvious by now that she was pregnant, completely beyond obvious as she was seven months along. Today though was a special day, every time they did an ultrasound to determine the baby's gender there was always something wrong, the baby was in an awkward position, the machine weirded out, the umbilical cord was in the way, it was always something, but today after work the brunette was going in to determine the baby's gender once and for all. As she walked down the crowded plaza Naminé made her way to the hospital after taking several short cuts and entered the large building heading to her mom's office.

The hospital was always a busy place so it never failed to surprise the red head that her mom managed to get so much accomplished in one day. Making her way to the second floor of the hospital Naminé turned down the hall and climbed the stairs before making it to the door on the left with her mother's name on it. Nia was busy filling out and filing papers that she didn't notice her daughter's presence until the red head knocked on the door, and at the sound of knocking the brunette quickly looked up looking frazzled.

"Hi baby, what are you doing here, I'm not out for another few…" her sentence drifted off as she looked at the clock on the wall. "Well, right now I guess." She said with a laugh.

"Need help Mom?" Naminé asked looking at the large piles of papers.

"Would you mind filing? All these are done." She said motioning to the large stack of files and papers. With a smile the red head went to work making short work of the large piles on the desk. After the two finished up the paperwork Nia looked at the wall clock and sighed in relief.

"Good we still have ten minutes to get to my appointment." She said pushing herself up from the chair, and with her daughter by her side the pair made their way to the obstetrician's ward where the appointment was. They only waited for a few moments before they were called for the appointment, and entering the room Naminé and Nia were met by the nurse doing the ultra sound. Naminé watched with intrigue at the simple procedure as once again an image of the baby could be seen on the monitor.

"Alright, here's our elusive little one." The nurse said moving the ultrasound wand along the brunette's stomach. "There it is, I hope you have a name picked out because you're having…oh! Well this is unexpected…" the nurse said softly making Nia and Naminé share a glance.

"Is everything alright?" Nia asked now growing concerned for her child.

"Oh yes, everything's fine, completely fine, I'm surprised they didn't notice this sooner is all, it's not in your medical records and it definitely explains all the misreadings…"

"What is it?" Nia said softly.

"You're having twins." The nurse said with a smile.

"Twins?" the brunette was at a complete loss, Naminé was just as surprised but soon grinned, she knew that both her parents would be thrilled at this, however Nia seemed to be in shock.

"Yes ma'am, twins."

"Two of them?"

"Two."

"At once?"

"Ma, you're double preggers just accept it." Naminé said tired of her mother's and the nurses' back and forth banter.

"But how can that be possible they said I'd only have a ten percent chance at ever having children again, how can I be having two?"

"Well, and please don't get insulted, but older women when they ovulate usually release more than one egg to increase the chance of conception, now what happened here…" the nurse said scanning her stomach once again is that you have a pair of fraternal twins which means that they're each growing in their own placenta. That means that they are not identical which happens when a fertilized embryo splits in half leading to two babies instead of one. Each of your two children here are developing from their own egg. From the looks of things, you're having one of each, you're having a son and another daughter congratulations." The nurse said still smiling as she continued scanning Nia's stomach. "Everything seems great development wise as well, both look very healthy and right on schedule for their ages. Unless you have any questions we're finished here." She said printing up pictures of each baby and handing them to Naminé who eagerly looked at them grinning like a little kid.

Together they walked from the hospital, the red head still looking at the pictures of her little siblings.

"Will I get to see the pictures of my children at all Naminé?" Nia asked with a smile.

"Sure, right forgot about that sorry." She said with a grin handing her mother the ultrasound photos as they made their way towards the Kazekage mansion.

"Well it definitely explains the back pain the extreme hunger and my very annoying desire to pee every ten minutes. I swear these two have been diving off my bladder for the last hour." Nia said rubbing her belly and vaguely wondering how her husband would take the news. She didn't even have to ponder it long, Nia knew he'd be ecstatic. Passing the Kazekage tower both Sabaku women noticed the lack of lights on the top floor and knew that Gaara would be back at the house.

"So how are you going to tell Dad?"

"I have no idea baby."

"Can I do it? I think I know how to deliver the news in a way where we'll get a pretty funny reaction, I know how much you love dad's confused face." Hearing this Nia laughed.

"Sure why not."

"Awesome, can I have the pictures they're all part of the big plan." The red head said with a wink making her mom smile.

"Sure, what _is_ your plan?"

"You'll see." The teen said with a grin holding the door open for her mom as they entered the house. Together they made their way to Gaara's office in the house, Nia following her daughter, and finally they arrived at the door, Naminé knocking before pushing the door open just a bit.

"Hey Dad, are you busy?" the red head asked her father.

"I am but I can make some time." He said with a soft smile motioning for her to enter, so the red head did so, her mom following.

"We have here…" the red head said holding up one of the ultra sound photos. "The picture of my sibling." Naminé said with a grin. Hearing this her father's eyes quickly went to the photo in her hand.

"Do we know what it is yet?" he asked eagerly.

"Yup, this is a picture of your daughter, and my little sister." Naminé said putting the picture on the desk which Gaara quickly picked up with a smile.

"Another girl…" he said softly with a smile, then it fell as he face palmed. "Another girl…it was hard enough keeping the boys away from _you._" He said looking at Naminé who simply laughed.

"Well it looks like it's your destiny to be surrounded by beautiful women, but don't worry dad, I'm sure her brother will be just as protective over her as you will be." It took the Kazekage several moments to process what his daughter just said and the look on his face made Nia smirk, she really did love his confused face.

"Come again?"

"Her brother." Naminé said simply placing the other photo on the desk as he stared at it, reaching over and picking it up. The photo in his left hand said baby 1, the one in his right said baby 2. He stared at the number two for the longest time.

"We're having twins?" he breathed.

"Yup."

"Two of them?" he said astonished as he looked over at his wife who nodded happily.

"Yeah dad."

"At the same time?" he asked just to be sure.

"You know mom said the same exact thing."

"I really did too." Nia said laughing at the irony.

"I'm having a son _and _another daughter." He said softly standing he hugged his daughter before walking over and hugging his wife tightly, resting his hands on her belly and his forehead against hers. "We're having two." He said softly in complete awe.

"I know."

"You have no idea how happy I am right now."

"I have an idea." Nia said quietly.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too."

"And I love our amazing brilliant daughter." He said with a smile.

"As do I, our pride and joy."

"And I love these two beautiful babies we've been blessed with."

"Me too." As they held each other Naminé stepped quietly from the room, this was a special moment for her parents, and the red head didn't want to intrude more than she already had. Making her way down the hall she walked to the stairs and headed down them, wondering what her uncle was up to in his work shop, if he was home at all. She really hadn't harassed him at all lately.

**To comment on reviews! Apollo Child, every one of my stories has practically a direct quote from a song in most chapters, congrats on finding it in the last chapter. I'm very musically driven.**

**I have fallen off the earth, and am coming back. Currently bouncing between places to live sorry gotta update quick. Sorry for the long wait, I honestly thought I posted this already, please forgive me T^T**


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